Steel Seed caught a lot of people’s eyes from the 2024 PC Gaming Show due to its traversal and combat mechanics, which remind many of a mix between Jedi Fallen Order/Survivor and Uncharted. But what got my attention was the level design. Clips we have seen have protagonist Zoe traversing through a hulking steamworks facility that features a parkour gamer’s playground of slides, wall climbs, runs…it all comes off as a bit reminiscent of TitanFall in fact.
You can check out the trailer shown during the June 9th event, which aired after the XBox showcase, below
Ad copy from the Epic Games Store (EGS) and Steam let us know much of what there is on the street about the title:
“Steel Seed is a single-player stealth-action adventure game set in a dark sci-fi world. Join Zoe and her flying drone companion, Koby, as they navigate a hostile underground facility run by AIs. Experience the immersive narrative, agile parkour movements, and stealth-based techniques inspired by games like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Steel Seed is developed by Storm in a Teacup and published by ESDigital Games, set to release in 2024. Discover the key to humanity’s survival in this gripping adventure!”
and
“Developer Storm in a Teacup’s Steel Seed blends stealth and action, and the new PC Gaming Show trailer gave us a good look at its bleak sci-fi setting. The game stars Zoe and her flying drone KOBY, as they explore an underground facility overrun by troublesome robots. The blend of action and stealth allows Zoe to engage directly or avoid some fights altogether as she explores deeper and saves humanity—while hopefully retaining her own.”
The script was worked on and edited by BAFTA-winning writer Martin Korda, although he is not credited as the original writer. He has worked on the FIFA game campaign stories, Destiny 2 and Destiny: the Taken King, as well as Need for Speed: Rivals, and No Man’s Sky, and his work helped The Movies, the business simulation game from Peter Molyneaux and Lionhead Studios, win a BAFTA.
There is a demo for the game that appears to still be available via EGS. While it is spoken about on the main Steam listing for the game, the demo did not still appear to be available for download there, although I may have missed it. The game is slated to launch this year on Steam, Epic, PS5, and XBox Series X|S, although nothing tighter for a release date has been given other than 2024. I did not get to play the demo, but there is video of the gameplay posted here:
The game’s development studio, Storm in a Teacup, or STC, was founded in 2013 by its current CEO, Carlo Ivo Alimo Bianchi. Bianchi is a former CG Artist and Lighting Lead at Ubisoft and IO Interactive and has worked on Crysis 3 and Batman: Arkham Origins. The team works out of an old Roman Villa, called Stormville, near the western coast of Rome.
Most of STCs earlier games were only met with lukewarm reception, but their latest, Close to the Sun, has slightly better but still mixed results across the landscape, with a 66 overall Metascore, but 75% on Steam from a small pool of players.
Based on information I could find, my guess is that the team may be about 20 – 25 developers.
Rounding Off Infinity 