A Planet of the Apes Video Game is Coming

From The Past: This article has been imported from one of my past blog sites, written in 2018.

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If, like us, you’ve fallen in love with 20th Century Fox’s latest Planet of the Apes trilogy, there’s no doubt you’ve been craving more ape action (especially after this summer’s stunning War for the Planet of the Apes). New studio Imaginati (a sub-section of Andy Serkis’ The Imaginarium Studios) has been working on an adventure game titled Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier, set in the Planet of the Apes rebooted cinematic universe. Check out the reveal trailer below if you haven’t seen it already.

The game’s narrative is set between the events of Dawn and this years War Although don’t expect to see Caeser, Maurice or any other humans or apes featured in the films, as the game’s story will focus on a totally new group of surviving humans and adapting apes, in the ever changing landscape of the world around them.

Luckily, Imaginati know that the strength of the recent reboots has been down to their engaging characters and gripping narrative. From what’s been revealed, it looks like we’ll be in for plenty more of the same. Especially with the studio striving towards pushing the boundaries of narrative in gaming, they couldn’t have picked a better franchise to start (see their statement below).

“Its mission is to challenge how narrative is treated in video games, find new ways to tell stories and, in the process, raise the prominence of writing, cinema and performance within games.” (Imaginati Studios, 2017).

*UPDATED*

Following the announcement and first trailer, IGN have released 6 minutes of gameplay footage (Linked above), respectively showcasing 3 minutes from each of the factions. The game looks gorgeous (no surprises there), and it’s great to see the Apes still communicating through sign language like the movies. The adventure is crafted to play like an interactive movie, so expect an experience similar to some of the best in choice-driven narrative games, like PlayStation exclusives Until Dawn and Heavy Rain. It’s safe to say we’ll be expecting some heavy decisions like the movies, as the game offers up a quick acting choice system that will shape relationships and affect the story, impacting the narrative's conclusion. For better or worse.

The game is slated for a release later this year across PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, although no official release date has been confirmed at the time of writing. If you’d like to be the first to know about any updates or announcements about the game, be sure to sign up for the newsletter on the game’s official site.