Ninja Theory, which has been part of Xbox Game Studios for more than two years, showcased a new video of Project: Mara, and we are not joking when we say the visuals are incredible.

We heard about one of the Ninja Theory projects – Project: Mara – last year, and it is an experimental title to explore „new ways of storytelling.” It will be based on a „real-world,” showcasing a „grounded representation” of mental terror. The new trailer below showcases a bit more of the game, while also revealing photo-realistic visuals that Tameem Antoniades and his team have created for this mysterious game.

It’s a surprise, but a welcome one nevertheless: Project: Mara is completely set in a single apartment! (Silent Hill 4: The Room got close to it, but it had more locations.) It’s based on an existing apartment, and Ninja Theory dedicated a lot of time and effort to photo-realistically recreate the apartment: the dimensions of the apartment, the textures on show in the location, the lighting, everything was recreated with state of the art technology.

Ninja Theory worked together with Clear Angle Studios to utilize a „point cloud of the entire apartment” down to „every little detail” to create a digital, 1:1 representation of the real space in a video game environment. Then, the team began using procedural tools to add „signs of life” to the apartment (dust, wear-and-tear, and other more organic elements) that  were layered onto the life-like replication to give it a „sense of place.”  In other words, they did not want to just have a good-looking, but sterile, apartment. But the gameplay should be just as important. (For instance, The Order 1886 looked nice on the PlayStation 4, but it was ridiculously short.)

Project: Mara’s aim is „to recreate the horrors of the mind as accurately and realistically as possible,” but it has no release date yet. It’s in development for Xbox Series and PC, and before it, we should expect another Ninja Theory game to launch on the same platforms (Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II).

Source: VG247