The Alters coming together soon for PC

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Narrative sci-fi adventure about diverging clone identities unveiled by the creators of Frostpunk and This War of Mine

Nature vs. nurture. It's an intriguing question with no definitive answer. Soon, however, we'll get a first-hand exploration of just how much personal experience plays a part in one's identity in The Alters, an upcoming narrative sci-fi adventure from 11bitstudios.

Jan Dolski is just an ordinary worker, an everyman – or everymen, as it turns out. When Jan's spaceship crash lands on a distant planet, he finds himself lost and alone under life-and-death circumstances. His only hope for survival is to create alternate versions (or alters) of himself, but what Jan never could have expected is how unique their personalities would become. Their DNA may be identical, but each is shaped by distinct choices made at "various stages and ages, making them different people – individuals driven by multiple motivations and torn by other emotions, who have done things differently, and maybe didn’t make [the same] mistakes." If Jan is to ever find his way off this world, repair his "shattered life" and get back home, it'll be up to players to "understand the weaknesses and strengths of Jan's tweaked identities and resourcefully balance the dynamics between them."

While little has been revealed about the gameplay so far, the new game from the creators of This War of Mine and Frostpunk is not so much about the big picture but rather the small, binary "life-changing moments" that we face every day. They don't seem like a big deal at the time, and they "happen in nanoseconds," but they can produce unanticipated, far-reaching consequences that "have influence over your entire life." By immersing us in the life-defining decisions that impact Jan's life, the developer's goal is to encourage players to ponder the fundamental "what if" questions about our own lives as well: "What if I altered my life? What if I took a different path? Who would I be? What would I say to a different me? What could I learn if I talked to my altered selves?"

While no one can answer those questions for us, it won't be long until we discover how they play out for Jan. There is no firm launch date just yet, but The Alters is due to arrive "soon" on PC on Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store.

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