Tartarus launch trailer showcases a retro-future sci-fi ship in trouble

The first person action-adventure Tartarus sounds a little bit like Under Siege in space. You play as Cooper, the cook aboard the mining ship Tartarus, where things have gone seriously wrong. Security protocols are engaged, everything's locked down, and the ship's orbit over Neptune is slowly decaying. Naturally, it falls to you to put it all right, a job developer Abyss Gameworks announced   today will fall in your lap on November 21. 

We got our hands on an early build back in the summer and it looked "promising as hell," although we also noted a rather conspicuous lack of action during our time with it. "None of the devs have mentioned anything about first-person combat, so I’m assuming that the parts of the game that don’t happen in computer terminals will be more Gone Home than Aliens," Ian wrote of his experience

That's reflected in the launch trailer, which features all sorts of Alien-esque corridors and rooms, and not a whole lot else. Even the music crescendos into nothing: You expect the bass to drop and the monsters to jump out and the guns to fire, and instead it's just... more rooms. 

That's not meant to be a criticism, but rather a heads-up: If you're expecting to solve this particular problem with an M56, you're probably going to be disappointed. If that doesn't put you off straight away, then you can learn more about how you will (hopefully) handle the situation at tartarusthegame.com

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.