The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen told the world last month that he and collaborator Tyler Glaiel had been working on a brand new project that was very near, but not quite ready for, an official announcement. Today he unveiled that project as The End is Nigh, "a sprawling adventure-platformer where you die a lot, but that's okay because you are probably already dead anyway."
The End is Nigh puts players in control of Ash, "one of the few 'things' that have 'survived' the 'end of the world'," as the Steam description puts it. "Follow Ash as he flops his way through a future of pain and suffering. Feel his stress levels rise as you throw him into an endless swarm of decaying, mutant animal-like creatures and help aid his final epic quest... to simply make a friend (out of pieces of people he finds along his journey)."
You will also collect videogame cartridges and tumors, "if that does anything for ya."
The reveal trailer gets very loud and sweary in spots, so depending on where you are right now, you might want to turn the volume down or throw on some headphones before you watch it, or just wait until later.
McMillen said in his May tease that The End is Nigh is "easily one of the largest games I've ever made," and it appears that he wasn't kidding. The game will include over 600 levels spread across 12 (and possibly more) chapters, with 80+ achievements, more than 20 "fully playable mini game cartridges" (each with their own achievements) and hundreds of "little squishy tumors" to collect, 80+ main-game achievements to earn, and "loads of hidden extras and endings that you will probably see someone else find before you do."
"Stress" is also cited as a feature, and based on the teaser I can see why. The End is Nigh looks really good as a high-mortality twitch-platformer, which is exactly the kind of game that drives me almost immediately apoplectic. I can respect and even admire games like that, but I sure can't play 'em.
The End is Nigh is set to come out on July 12. Pricing hasn't been set, but the very McMillen-esque system requirements are below and you can find out more at edmundm.com.
Minimum:
- OS: Windows 7 or higher
- Processor: Intel Core i3
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: anything made after 2008
- Storage: 500 MB available space
Recommended:
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i7
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: nVidia 9999999999999GTX TI SLIx200
- Storage: 500 MB available space