The Mercury Man looks like Blade Runner with Russian health nuts

Mercury used to be a medicinal staple, until we realised that it was incredibly toxic and doing more harm than good. In the near-future of The Mercury Man, humanity seems to have forgotten all about that, leading to people getting illegal mercury transfusions in an effort to cure all known diseases. As a ‘mercury hunter’, players will find ‘mercuries’ and put a stop to their nonsense. Imagine a Russian Blade Runner where replicants have been replaced by health nuts.

I’m not sure if the bizarre premise is a result of translation problems (the trailer and screenshots are full of broken English), or if people really are pumping their body full of literal mercury and somehow not instantly dying. It’s not entirely clear why they’re being hunted down, either. The screenshot below mentions new diseases and maybe the ‘mercuries’ are somehow responsible, but the text seems to have been run through Google Translate, making it hard to understand.

Despite my bafflement, the stylish trailer and mixture of point-and-click adventuring and turn-based tactical fights has definitely tickled my fancy, and I always have time for gloomy Russian noir.

The Mercury Man is due on Steam in Q1 of this year.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.