Tony Stark’sIron Manhas always been a popular character, especially following Robert Downey Jr.’s performance in the MCU. Unfortunately, the Marvel character has always had trouble getting his feet off the ground in a modern, standalone, AAA game. Of course, there have been two licensedIron Mantitles adapted loosely from theMCU’sIron ManandIron Man 2, as well as anIron Man VRthat released a couple of years ago. But having released to mixed receptions, there has not been anotherIron Manexperience that could rival that of other contemporary superhero games.
However, if recent rumors are eventually confirmed, it seems as though the character has been trying to break back into a standalone game for some time. Indeed,Mad Max’s Avalanche Studios had reportedly had anIron Mangame in the worksbefore its cancelation, demonstrating the desire for anotherIron Mangame to be made back in 2012. Now, the latest rumor comes from industry insider Jeff Grubb, who claims that EA Motive’s next game after theDead Spaceremake will be anIron Mangame. If true, there are many features that Motive could translate fromDead SpacetoIron Man.
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If no developer had already been rumored to helmIron Man, the quality to expect would be unclear. Instead, now that it is understood thatEA Motiveis rumored to be working on it, there is a great deal of expectation that is placed onto the developer. Before itsDead Spaceefforts, even Motive may have been a developer whose quality output is unclear, with only a couple outings in theStar Warsuniverse to its name. However, Motive has been remarkably transparent about its development on theDead Spaceremake, a title that seems to emanate quality and polish.
Motive’sDead Spacecould have been a simple remaster or a remake without bells and whistles, but instead it has chosen to fully refurbish the original game with immersive lighting, sound, art, mechanics, and more. For example,Motive’sDead Spacefeatures the ALIVE system, a brand-new mechanic that represents limbic behaviors in Isaac Clarke’s movements, expressions, and dialogue. Isaac’s breathing will reflect his anxiety, and Isaac’s movement will reflect his fatigue, for example. If Motive can emulate what it feels like to be Isaac in a science-fiction engineering suit in zero-gravity, it will be fantastic to see what the developer can create with Tony in a billion-dollar armored suit.
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Iron Man’s Suits Should Make Players Feel Like a One-Person Army
One of the most defining features of Iron Man is his diverse catalog of armored suits.Iron ManandDead Spacewould not likely share much else in common besides Tony’s suits and Isaac’s RIGs, but that is a wonderful foundation that Motive could build from. These suits of armor are an extension of Tony and, while each has a distinguished look or color, they are also equipped with unique armaments and capabilities. Tony is encased in the armor and able to fly, charge repulsor blasts, or fire mounted turrets and guided missiles, for example.
In making these features succinct, something to consider is sound design. Jet propulsion and unibeam repulsors are highly distinct in sound design, which is an area of expertise that Motive has a particular competency in.Motive previously developedStar Wars Battlefront 2andStar Wars: Squadrons, both of which have incredible sound design that immerses players in theStar Warsuniverse.
Motive’s accessibility featuresand all the emergent detail it is putting intoDead Spacewould be great to witness in anIron Mangame, so hopefully the rumor of its development is true. AnIron Mangame has been canceled before, but what Motive achieves withDead Spacemay establish it as the perfect developer for the task.
