Judas, the next game by Ken Levine, has been in the works since about 2017, but the world has scarcely seen or heard of it in the near decade that it’s been in production. It seems that the progenitor of BioShock is intent on reminding people Judas exists, though, because we’re getting a rare second update in 2025 for the game. And while there’s still zero sense of when, if ever, Judas might come out, Levine’s saying some pretty encouraging stuff about the mechanics fueling the game.
For those who need a refresher, Judas is an ambitious first-person shooter that focuses on player agency. The game has apparently taken this long to make because developer Ghost Story Games says it is committed to creating an experience that truly reflects player choices over relying on prescriptive narrative formulas, like cutscenes that tell you what’s happening. If that sounds nebulous, a post over at PlayStation Blog from earlier this week gives a better sense of how, exactly, Ghost Ship Games intends to achieve such a lofty goal.
Levine details Judas‘ “villainy” system, where the game’s big bad actually isn’t chosen in advance. Rather, the game determines who the main villain is based on the actions of the player. There are three possibilities for the villain in Judas, and each one has its own slate of powers that they’ll use against you. It seems like you’ll get a chance to get to know all the potential rivals, and the game will pay attention to who you spend the most time with.
It’s here that Levine name-drops Shadow of Mordor, Monolith’s esteemed action game that’s never been fully replicated since its release in 2014. That’s by design: The “nemesis” system at the heart of Shadow of Mordor is patented. As fans of the Tolkien games recall, the enemies in the series are orcs who can recall your previous encounters. As you go along, you’ll defeat orcs and have orcs slip away, only to meet them again later. Often, they’ll be a little tougher next time around. When you reconvene, the orcs mention your previous fights and they’ll evolve in ways specific to the encounters you’ve had together. If you nearly killed them in a specific way and the orc got away, for example, they might have better defenses in that specific area next time you go after them. Orcs could also rise in rank and become stronger, or be demoted if you managed to shame them during your last skirmish. Orcs would even change their names based on how you interacted with them. The system was highly acclaimed by critics due to its complexity, which gave rise to all sorts of incredible micro-narratives specific to your game.
We might never get another shot at a modern action game with a true nemesis system, but Judas might come close. Here’s Levine describing how the game is designed:
In Judas, you’re going to get to know these characters intimately. We want losing one of them to feel like losing a friend. We want to play with that dynamic, and we want that choice to be super hard. The Big 3 are all going to be competing for your favor and attention. They can bribe you, save you in battle, talk shit about the other characters, and share with you their darkest secrets. But eventually, you’ve got to decide who you trust and who you don’t.
It all sounds tantalizing on paper, especially when you hear that the villainy system is reportedly being received well during early tests by players unfamiliar with the game. We also know that Ghost Ship has put a lot of effort into making sure that the writing acknowledges the way that the player moves through the game, and in ways specific to the villain in question. Think of the way Elizabeth would comment or react to the player in BioShock Infinite, but super-charged, and apparently what you get is Judas.
Still, Judas has to stick the landing, and there’s no telling whether it’ll be able to achieve what it sets out to do. With this long of a development cycle led by one of the most famous game developers in the industry, Ghost Ship Games will have to contend with the daunting task of meeting sky-high expectations. And with no established release date in sight, Judas‘ predicament is only growing.
Meanwhile, 2K is still struggling to chart a path forward for the next actual BioShock game, which also appears to be caught in its own development hell. Turns out, it’s not easy to follow up one of the most influential series in the entire medium. But while Judas might be aiming for the stars, the DNA of Levine’s previous game is evident throughout the scant footage that’s been released thus far. Players in Judas have powers similar to Vigors and Plasmids, and the world itself features a similar art deco aesthetic. Levine’s also still got BioShock on the mind, as evidenced by the comparisons he draws in the blog post to his previous games. Can Judas live up to the hype? Well, it has to come out first.
“As you know, release dates have a way of slipping by, and we’d like to avoid having to change the date after we announce it,” Levine writes. “But we know Judas is not really a game until the players get their hands on it, and that’s a day everyone on the team is working toward.”
