Helsinki, Finland based indie developer Shiver Games has announced an upcoming sequel to the studio’s first ever major release, Lucius. Known as Lucius II: The Prophecy, the sequel picks up where its predecessor left off in the story of the game’s titular murderous child, who has been committed to a psychiatric hospital in the wake of his first rampage.
The Lucius series centers around the story of its eponymous main character, the six year old child of a U.S. Senator who is revealed to have demonic, supernatural powers. Tasked by the devil with the slaying of the occupants of his father’s mansion, the boy must use his newfound powers to explore his surroundings and find ways to slay his targets without drawing undue attention to himself. Reviews of the original Lucius praised the game’s concept but took issue with its execution, citing unclear objectives and lackluster character development.
Lucius II: The Prophecy begins amidst the ruins of the boy’s former home and follows him during his stay at a mental institution. The sequel promises much more territory to explore than the original, including not only the hospital itself but the surrounding town of Ludlow. Lucius II plans to take a more nonlinear approach to gameplay in order to address some of the issues raised with its predecessor, providing the player with over one hundred potential victims and an arsenal of objects and tools that can be used to deliver them to an untimely demise, allowing the player more freedom and creativity rather than expecting them to solve cryptic puzzles in order to pull off the perfect crime. Lucius II will also add the ability to customize your skills and abilities, allowing players to create a version of the Antichrist best suited to their playstyle. Whether or not these improvements will be enough to satisfy critics is yet to be seen, however, as is what has been done to improve upon the original’s oft-criticized poor writing and storytelling.
Lucius II: The Prophecy is scheduled to debut on PCs in early 2015 via Steam. If you’re interested in learning more about the game you can watch the official trailer accompanying the announcement below or on YouTube.