| Past Cure | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Phantom 8 Studio |
| Publisher(s) | Phantom 8 Studio |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 4 [1] |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One |
| Release | 23 February 2018 |
| Genre(s) | Action |
Past Cure is an action video game developed by German [2] indie developer Phantom 8. In the game the player controls Ian, a former elite soldier, who has undergone military experiments and tries to uncover his past. Past Cure was released on 23 February 2018 for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Past Cure is an action indie video game. Played from a third-person perspective, the player controls Ian, a former elite soldier. Ian sets out to uncover the truth about military experiments that were done to him, which gave him special powers. Abilities include the power to slow time and astral projection. Ian, assisted by his brother, also tries to master his abilities. Ian goes to the criminal underworld where he uses his special powers to survive. However, every time he uses his powers, his mind becomes more detached from reality.
Simon Gerdesmann, managing director of Phantom 8, said the idea to develop a game started from a pitch from a friend. While hesitant at first, he later decided to develop the game. [3] The development started in March 2016 with three video game developers; later the team expanded to six members in the middle of the development stage and by the end had grown to eight members. [3] Simon said that because of the eight people on the team, the studio was called Phantom 8. [3] The studio is an international team, with people from Turkey, Belgium, Egypt, Romania, England and North Macedonia. [3] The game is built in Unreal Engine 4. The inspirations for the game were Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid. [3]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PC) 48/100 (PS4) 37/100 (XONE) 34/100 |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer Games Magazine | 2/10 [4] |
| Destructoid | 2/10 [5] |
| IGN | 5.8/10 [6] |
| Push Square |   [7] |
Review aggregator Metacritic calculated an average score of 37 out of 100, based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [8]
John Cal McCormick of the Push Square said that the game is bad, and he further elaborated that, "But it's also the best kind of bad game, in that it's not for a lack of effort or that the team were bereft of ideas that the finished product doesn't come together". [9] Makedonski of the Destructoid wrote that, "This is a game that is flawed to its core. The mangled story and shoddy design prevent any single aspect from ever sticking out as something special. Don't even risk taking a bargain bin flier on this one. You'll only end up frustrating yourself". [10]
Jon Denton of Trusted Reviews wrote, "Past Cure has a much lower budget than most action games, and it's refreshing that the team didn't use crowdfunding to get their project off the ground". [11] Erin Castillo of COGconnected praised the game for "good use of its textural environments" she further added that, "[the game is] really capturing both Ian's real world and his dream one and the cutscenes within this story-driven narrative are well done as well". [12] Chandler Wood of the PlayStation LifeStyle wrote that the voice actors of the game were uninterested in delivering their lines, he further explained that, "There were numerous places where I felt that my Google Assistant's voice would do a better job at reading the lines than the voice actors did". [13]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Game Connection | People's Choice Award | Won | [14] [15] [16] |
| Best Hardcore Game | Nominated | |||
| Best Indie Game | Nominated | |||
| Most Original Game | Nominated | |||
| White Nights Conference | Best Storytelling | Won |
Cliff Bleszinski, popularly known as CliffyB, is an American video game designer, known for his work on the Unreal and Gears of War series while at Epic Games. After leaving Epic in 2012, he co-founded Boss Key Productions in 2014 which closed in 2018 after the commercial failure of the multiplayer shooter LawBreakers. Since Boss Key's closure, Bleszinski has spent his time with theater and writing.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a 2015 action-adventure stealth video game developed and published by Konami. Directed, written, and designed by Hideo Kojima, it is the ninth installment in the Metal Gear franchise, following Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, a stand-alone prologue released the previous year. Set in 1984, nine years after the events of Ground Zeroes, the story follows mercenary leader Punished "Venom" Snake as he ventures into Soviet-occupied Afghanistan and the Angola–Zaire border region to exact revenge on those who destroyed his forces and came close to killing him during the climax of Ground Zeroes.
A Hat in Time is a 2017 platform game developed by Danish game studio Gears for Breakfast and published by Humble Bundle. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 3 and funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which nearly doubled its fundraising goals within its first two days. The game was self-published for macOS and Windows in October 2017, and by Humble Bundle for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles two months later. A version for the Nintendo Switch was released in October 2019.
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds is a beat 'em up developed and published by Mages under the 5pb. brand, and originally released on February 27, 2013 for the Xbox 360. it is a spin-off of the fighting game Phantom Breaker.
Sniper Elite 4 is a 2017 third-person tactical shooter stealth video game developed and published by Rebellion Developments. The sequel to Sniper Elite III, the game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 14 February 2017 and for Stadia on 1 November 2020. A Nintendo Switch port of the game was released on 17 November 2020. A sequel, Sniper Elite 5, was released on 26 May 2022.
Observer is a psychological horror video game developed by Bloober Team and published by Aspyr. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in August 2017, followed by versions for Linux, macOS and Nintendo Switch. An upgraded and expanded version called Observer: System Redux was released in November 2020 for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, for Amazon Luna in March 2021, and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in July 2021. Observer follows Daniel Lazarski, a detective known as an Observer, who can hack people's minds as a method of interrogation.
Marvel's Spider-Man is a 2018 action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, it tells an original narrative that is inspired by the long-running comic book mythology, while also drawing from various adaptations in other media. In the main story, the super-human crime lord Mister Negative orchestrates a plot to seize control of New York City's criminal underworld. When Mister Negative threatens to release a deadly virus, Spider-Man must confront him and protect the city while dealing with the personal problems of his civilian persona, Peter Parker.
GreedFall is an action role-playing game developed by Spiders and published by Focus Home Interactive. The game is set in an early 18th century-styled fantasy setting and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on September 10, 2019, and subsequently in a graphically uplifted and performance enhanced version for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on June 30, 2021.
Shadow of the Colossus is a 2018 action-adventure game developed by Bluepoint Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. It is a remake of the original game developed by Team Ico and released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2, using ultra-high definition art assets. The remake's development was led by Bluepoint, who developed the earlier PlayStation 3 remaster, with assistance from Japan Studio. The developers remade the assets from the ground up, but Shadow of the Colossus retains the same gameplay from the original title aside from the introduction of a new control scheme. The game received critical acclaim.
Concrete Genie is an action-adventure video game developed by Pixelopus and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. The game was announced at Sony's PlayStation Media Showcase at Paris Games Week 2017 on October 30, 2017, and was released on October 8, 2019. It received generally favourable reviews from critics. The game is also the final game released by Pixelopus before their closure in June 2023.
Someday You'll Return is a psychological horror video game developed by Czech company CBE Software. The game follows the protagonist Daniel in the search for his daughter in Moravian forests. The game features Czech realities, such as tourist signs, the Czech landscape and natural monuments. It is dubbed in English, initially with the possibility of Czech or English subtitles.
Samurai Shodown is a 2019 fighting game developed and published by SNK for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Stadia, Xbox Series X and Series S, Android and iOS via Netflix Games, and Windows as an entry in the Samurai Shodown series, as well as a reboot to the series. An arcade version was released by Taito.
Trials of the Blood Dragon is a platform game developed by Ubisoft RedLynx and published by Ubisoft. As a crossover game of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and the Trials series, the game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in June 2016.
Destroy All Humans! is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Black Forest Games and published by THQ Nordic. The game is a remake of the 2005 original game and the fifth installment in the Destroy All Humans! franchise. This remake is the first entry in the franchise since Path of the Furon (2008).
Grounded is a survival action-adventure video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. It was released for Windows and Xbox One in early access in July 2020. It was fully released on September 27, 2022. The Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions were released on April 16, 2024.
Godfall is an action role-playing game developed by Counterplay Games and published by Gearbox Publishing. The game was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on November 12, 2020. It was also released for the PlayStation 4 on August 10, 2021. An enhanced version of the game containing all downloadable content up to that point, titled Godfall: Ultimate Edition, was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on April 7, 2022. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Puppet Combo is an American independent video game development studio founded by Benedetto "Ben" Cocuzza in 2012 as Pig Farmer Games and based in Brooklyn. Puppet Combo's games, such as Nun Massacre (2018) and the critically acclaimed Murder House (2020), are mostly survival horror games developed solely by Cocuzza and modeled after early PlayStation games and VHS. They are also frequently inspired by 1980s horror films, specifically grindhouse and slasher films. Puppet Combo primarily releases their games through Patreon and Itch.io. Cocuzza launched Torture Star Video, a video game publisher for lo-fi horror games, in 2021.
The Persistence is a survival horror video game developed and published by Firesprite. Originally released for the virtual reality headset PlayStation VR in July 2018, the game was released for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One in May 2020. An Enhanced version of the game was released for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S in June 2021.
{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)