Some secrets need to be told; the only tricky thing is figuring out how best to tell them. That’s the running theme permeating Dead Take, the all-new psychological horror from Surgent Studios that’s a scathing exposé on the seedy, terrifying underbelly of Hollywood and beyond.
Dead Take is a brutally honest glimpse behind the dirtied curtain veiling the notorious movie business, but it’s a duality of sorts that also reflects the goings-on inside our games industry. I recently caught up with Abubakar Salim, creative director at Surgent Studios, to find out the inner workings of Dead Take, a game that promises to offend you if you’re in a position to be offended.
Here’s the full video interview:
Everything is Related
Dead Take is almost a biography of a group of hyper-talented actors sharing a spot at the pinnacle of the industry right now. When I caught up with Abubakar Salim as part of the latest Insider Gaming Developer Spotlight, I was eager to learn why it’s important to tell these stories in such a vivid and immersive way.
My most important question was based on the imminent reception of this game, which is sure to go down as something deeply controversial. Salim set the story straight:
The only people who will be offended by this or who will be taken aback by this are the people who have done the wrong shit. People who have done bad, they are the ones who will be like, ‘How dare you?’ Because it is so laser and surgical and precise in regards to the stories, in regards to what we’re doing.
Every bit of lore, every piece of information that you find is very related to something that has happened in the industry.
If you are the criminal in regards to this, if you are the bad person in regards to this, you will be offended by it, because we’re calling you out. That’s exactly what we’re playing with.
We’re calling out horrendousness. Why does it offend you?
Dead Take is the culmination of just seven months of work. I asked Abubakar how the team was able to piece the game together so quickly:
We knew what we were doing, we knew what we wanted to create, we knew what we wanted to build, and we had fun. That’s the thing, we were having fun building this thing.
The star talent upholding Dead Take is nothing short of monumental. This title features the chops of Neil Newbon, Ben Starr, Alanah Pearce, Jane Perry, Matt Mercer, Sam Lake, and more. It’s a twisted romp that fuses live-action sequences with a traditional first-person horror experience to uncover truths that are nothing short of shocking.
For some, Dead Take might represent something out of left field, given that Surgent Studios’ first game was Tales of Kenzera: Zau, a Metroidvania title with colourful, vibrant visuals and an incredible combat engine. I put that question to Abubakar, asking him if there were identity-related concerns about Dead Take:
In truth, Tales and Dead Take are very much born from the same thing of wanting to tell a human story, with human truth. Where Zau was about the idea of grief and trying to understand what that means to someone when they lose a parent, Dead Take is very much about success and it’s about the need for a legacy.
Again, how do you make a name for yourself with the life that you have and the skills that you have? They’re both born from this very human emotion, very human journeys. In truth, we’re not worried about the visual identity element, because people who play the games will understand.
Before I brought the call to a close, I asked Abubakar what’s next for Surgent Studios:
We might make something different, I think that’s the beauty of where we’re in. We’re finding our power as indie developers to just create and build and do stuff that we say is fun and what we enjoy and what we want to do. I quite like the idea of releasing games, I quite enjoy it, so I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s just release another.’
We are very much in the space of figuring out what’s our next venture, sure, but knowing as long as we have fun with it, that’s all good.
Dead Take will be released exclusively on PC on July 31. You can check out my full review when the game drops.
Let me know on the Insider Gaming forum if Dead Take sounds like your kind of game.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Battlefield 6’s battle royale map has leaked
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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