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GC 2008: Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason Updated Look

By Brian Ekberg, GameSpotPosted Aug 22, 2008 9:57 am PT

Is it cold in here, or is it just 1C's new survival horror game?

There's a lot going on in 1C's upcoming Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason, and not all of it makes sense. A body heat system that requires you to keep your temperature up while on board a frozen ship stuck in the middle of the Arctic Circle. Former crew members who've apparently come back from the dead to haunt the ship and do you grievous bodily harm. You can even step into the minds of NPCs and, then, travel back in time to change events in the past. All of this, plus some creepy scares, add up to an intriguing, if sometimes confusing game from 1C and developer Action Form.

You'll play as kick-butt, two-fisted meteorologist Alexander Nesterov, who mysteriously finds himself in the bowels of the "North Wind." By game's end, you'll make your way through the entire ship (which, developers told us, is about the height of a nine-story building), all the while uncovering what happened on board after it became stuck in the ice. That ice will be a constant problem for you as you make your way around. Because the ship is frozen, you'll need to keep a constant eye on both the outside temperature and your own body heat levels, measured by a small meter in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. If you stay exposed to the chill for too long, it's game over for Nesterov. Luckily (and perhaps illogically for a ship that's been stranded in the ice for very long), you'll find frequent spots where you can regain your body heat.

Once you've manged to warm back up, though, you'll probably have other problems on your hands in the form of psychotic enemies you'll encounter. The explanation for their appearance was a bit confusing to us, but the gist of it is that these are former crew members who were taken over by the cold when the North Wind was trapped; some fought for their lives and others embraced the cold, turning them into the enemies that want you dead. You'll start the game with just your bare hands to defend yourself, but soon enough you'll find weapons you can use, such as shotguns, rifles, and fire axes. The game is set in 1968, so don't expect laser cannons (or even submachine guns, for that matter) but a few good blasts from a tommy gun look to be enough to take down most enemies.

When you aren't warming your tootsies or blasting enemies back to the nether-reaches, Alexander will be using his mental echo ability--which will allow him to peer into the minds of other players and, even more oddly, travel back into the past to try to rectify things. For instance, during one level, you'll encounter a sailor who met an unfortunate end when a pane of glass exploded right in front of him, firing a shard of glass into his neck. Using the mental echo ability, you can travel back in time, take over that sailor's body just seconds before that explosion, and move him out of the way. It seems as though saving the different crew members who died on board in this manner will be a key to unlocking the story and reaching the end of Cryostasis.

With frozen combat, creepy-looking mummified bad guys, telepathy, and time travel of sorts, there's definitely an "everything but the kitchen sink" vibe happening with Cryostasis. Will that imaginative approach result in a varied experience? We'll find out when the game is released on PCs this October.

44 Comments

  • AlfaxD_Centauro

    Posted Apr 9, 2009 5:12 pm PT

    Bioshock is just a little thing compared to Cryostasis.

  • storky1941

    Posted Mar 5, 2009 8:09 pm PT

    I found it runs quite well on xp pro no problems I must admit though the game is different, but it keeps drawing you back to play it.

  • Vasot

    Posted Feb 23, 2009 2:28 pm PT

    Meh another Windows Vista-only garbage

  • electroban

    Posted Feb 17, 2009 8:48 pm PT

    tbh - this game has an authentic feel and atmosphere to it, it beats the hell out of: Oblivion/Call of Duty(any of them as they are all pants)/GTA. You have to give qudos to companies that come up with fresh idea's and styles. Cos one day u guys might find yourselves sounding ridiculous when u go "I CANT WAIT FOR CALL OF DUTY 35"

  • downloadthefile

    Posted Jan 31, 2009 9:37 am PT

    dont compare this to "garbage" like bioshock? lol...nice way to lose all credibility. and ady, the people who go back to playing mario are the people who grew up with it through the years and not just the eleven year olds who think everything that is new is much better...original mario games on nes and snes are better than 90% of the games out...no, its not that "us little kidz r 2 scared to play it, lol." your grammar is at the level of a 1st grader's, and your opinion is worthless.

  • ady_1102

    Posted Jan 20, 2009 10:24 pm PT

    this game is awesome, all u people who say that is garbage, maybe u should go back on playing mario...lol..it's not quite like bioshock i agree, but its far more better in my opinion than that crysis crap,and better that alone in the dark 4 example, that's 4 sure... is' a great horror survival game, and coming from a small company like 1C that is a big thing....maybe u little kidz r 2 scared to play it, lol

  • euphoric666

    Posted Jan 19, 2009 7:12 pm PT

    just played the russian version... MEDIOCRE.

  • MalParkes

    Posted Jan 2, 2009 2:57 pm PT

    Grow up baby this so boring

  • AqUaBlaDe123

    Posted Jan 2, 2009 2:09 pm PT

    U are an IDIOT u are like someone who probably thinks their good at halo 3 and call of duty 4 well u are an idiot!

  • MalParkes

    Posted Dec 31, 2008 3:11 pm PT

    Please do not compare this garbage to bioshock or crysis , more like stalker on a ship , god what a bore . Even the crap alien bit in crysis was better than this .

  • stalepretzels

    Posted Dec 25, 2008 7:50 pm PT

    clasys

    I agree with you. I've played the russian version all the way through twice in two days. It is nothing like bioshock, and the only thing that it has similar to bioshock is an awesome story. To be frank, Cryostasis' story gives bioshock's story a run for it's money. It wraps up flawlessly in the end, leaving a massive sense of mystery. But is fulfilling at the same time.

    This game was made with passion. 1C knew that they were going to make the most of their game, and, in my opinion, Cryostasis punches the lights out of several games with (as clasys said) a 50x bigger budget.

    The low budget, of course, did bring a few small issues, such as continuous SFX shut off when you are outside of the North Wind. There are some clipping issues too, but that's about it.

    To sum it up, Cryostasis is an incredible game. The complete opposite of what I expected.

  • clasys

    Posted Dec 22, 2008 9:44 pm PT

    Well... I've been playing this game for about 4 full hours now - russian version is out already. This is what I got:

    First, this is absolutely nothing like bioshock, pure survival horror, think Dead Space covered in beautiful icycles.

    On plus side: graphics are very, very good for something that had total budget probably about 1/50 of A+ title, like aforementioned Dead Space.

    Minus: graphics are very, very good - means this game is very demanding AND it is not optimized well. At least this stands for russian release, maybe US release will be better. Performance suffers especially in ATI department; game's engine is using PhysX extensively and favors newest Nvidia cards. I run it on Radeon 4870, and guess what: think you can run Crysis on your ATI maxed out @ 35 FPS? Try running this game with motion blur enabled in DX10 mode! Still, metal walls covered in ice sparkling when lit from 4-5 light sources in DX10.... Looks awesome.


    The big question mark: story and the whole atmosphere... My biggest concern is that it will loose all its beauty in translation. In russian it is absolutely the most amazing story-telling action game I have ever played, and I've been playing games for more than 2 decades now. Forget sloppy unresponsive combat/shooting mechanics! They just add more to a dark, disturbing "nothing-around-for-hundreds-of-miles-but-frozen-hell" feeling that gets you the second you start the game. And with every level it gets darker and colder. And the way the story unwraps - its simply genious.

    So we'll see. So far Im hooked.

  • gruby2 posted Dec 21, 2008 3:51 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    gruby2

    Posted Dec 21, 2008 3:51 pm PT (hide)

    i just want to express my true feelings for this title
    rubbish...
    looks like rubbish
    sounds like rubbish
    feels like rubbish
    smells like rubbish does not predict a bright future for PC gaming, a truly outdated title which ,maybe, would be worth something if it was published one or two years ago.
    you can or cannot agree with me

  • stalepretzels

    Posted Dec 11, 2008 5:54 pm PT

    Chronostasis

    Accurate words on the bioshock thing. You did pretty much float down to Rapture and go on a rampage - cryostasis looks nothing like that.

    I'm hopeful for this one, it could be something good.

  • sparticusjoe

    Posted Nov 27, 2008 1:02 pm PT

    (or even submachine guns, for that matter) but a few good blasts from a tommy gun look to be enough to take down most enemies. Yeah, about that, guys... A tommy gun = Submachine gun.

  • 1Slide5

    Posted Nov 22, 2008 3:49 am PT

    looks promising hope it turs out worth buying

  • Chronostatis

    Posted Nov 17, 2008 12:28 pm PT

    I'm waiting for this game primarely for patriotical reasons , since Russian dev. at 80 % of time make crappy games , I highly anticipate it . First of all this is NOTHING like Bioshock - in bioshock you basically can go on rampage through the whole game , this one is a survival horror , not a typical FPS . You Are Empty was created by a tottaly different dev. team ( 6.5/10 only for style and atmosphere of USSR surroundings , otherwise it's not good at all ) . This dev. team made Vivisector , which never made it way to USA , but was quite a good FPS , especcially thanks to the original voice atcting , and LOTS of action moments + nice animal fure and body dismemberment , that looked nice even though completely unrealistic.

  • termadoyle

    Posted Nov 7, 2008 9:24 am PT

    I hope to god this will be as good as Dead Space.

  • ACES_of_CRIME

    Posted Oct 30, 2008 4:28 am PT

    More like Blood Moon probably...

  • ACES_of_CRIME

    Posted Oct 30, 2008 4:26 am PT

    A lot of people say it looks like a cross between Bioshock and Condemned but I think, strangely, it looks a bit like Morrowind environmental wise.
    I know it sounds a bit weird but I think everyone thats played Morrowind knows that I got a point.

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