After what feels like a lifetime of radio silence, the legend himself, Ken Levine, is back. If you spent your younger years getting jump-scared in the hallways of Rapture or flying through the clouds of Columbia, you know the vibe. His new studio, Ghost Story Games, is finally pulling back the curtain on Judas, and it looks like a beautiful, chaotic mess in the best way possible. We’re trading the ocean floor for the vacuum of space, specifically a massive, falling-apart “city-ship” called the Mayflower. It’s a game that feels like a classic BioShock reunion but with a futuristic, high-tech makeover that’s way more ambitious than anything we’ve seen before.
Meet the Dysfunctional Robot Family
You play as Judas, a woman who is basically the ship’s public enemy number one. She’s been “reprinted”—think of it as a 3D-printed human—after causing a massive uprising that went sideways. The Mayflower is run by a trio of mechanical weirdos known as the Big 3. You’ve got Tom, the security nut who treats the ship like his personal fortress; Nefertiti, a doctor who thinks being “human” is a bug that needs to be patched out; and Hope, a girl who just wants the whole nightmare to end. They aren’t just background characters; they are the heart of the game’s drama. They fight with each other, they lie to you, and they’ll definitely hold a grudge if you pick the wrong side.
Narrative LEGOs are the New Meta
The coolest thing about Judas is something Levine calls Narrative LEGOs. Usually, in story games, you’re just following a script. Here, the game is built out of modular “blocks” that snap together based on what you actually do. It’s not just about picking an “A” or “B” ending. Instead, the game’s engine tracks your relationships with the Big 3 constantly. If you help Tom fix a security breach, Nefertiti might get salty and send a swarm of killer robots to ruin your next mission. It’s a reactive world where the story feels like it’s being written in real-time by your own bad decisions. No two players will have the exact same experience, which is a total game-changer for the Immersive Sim genre.
Powers, Pins, and Particle Effects
If you’re wondering if the combat still hits, the answer is a big yes. You’re still rocking the “gun in one hand, magic in the other” style, but with a sci-fi twist. Instead of Plasmids, you’re using high-tech rigs and organic modifications to mess with the world. You can hack into the ship’s systems, turn turrets against their owners, or blast enemies with energy. Since the ship is a giant, decaying machine, the environment is your best friend. You can lure enemies into electrified water or use the ship’s gravity against them. And since you’re a “reprint,” dying is actually part of the loop. Every time you bite the dust, you come back and can tweak your build, making you a little more dangerous for the next run.
Ditching the Live-Service Noise
In a world where every game wants to sell you a battle pass or a $20 skin, Judas is keeping it old school. This is a single-player journey through and through. It’s all about the atmosphere, the world-building, and that feeling of being totally lost in a strange new place. The art style is a wild mix of retro-future tech and gritty, industrial decay that looks incredible in the latest engines. It’s clear the team took their time to make sure the Mayflower feels lived-in—or rather, died-in. With its release on the horizon in 2026, it’s looking like the perfect comeback for a developer who knows exactly how to make us question our own morality while blasting robots.
