ILL is shaping up to be one of the most violent games ever made. Every time Team Clout and Mundfish publish a new trailer, audiences stare in shock at the brutality before them. Naturally, most people are pairing that level of violence with a difficulty scale that they imagine will be pretty punishing, but that might not be the case.
In a recent interview with ILL’s developers, I learned exactly how difficult the game is set to be. It’s certainly not going to be easy, but the gratuitous violence isn’t being met with unnecessarily tough gameplay.
How Hard Will ILL Be?
ILL is a chilling game that boasts disturbing and hyper-realistic body damage, physics, and mutations, plunging players into a horrifying Soviet-era facility packed to the rafters with enemies known as Aberrations. It’s not for those with a weak temperament, as every trailer we’ve seen professes just how gory and shocking this title will be.
It makes sense when you understand that it’s from a team well-versed in cinematic horror, with credits spanning Until Dawn, IT: Welcome to Derry, V/H/S/Beyond, Longlegs, and Azrael, amongst others.
Fearing that ILL would be an oppressive and harrowing game to experience in terms of difficulty, I brought up the game’s learning curve when I spoke to the developers at Team Clout. I asked straight up, is this game as hard as it looks?
The team explained:
When it comes to difficulty, we don’t want to overly punish players, but we also don’t want them to feel like an unstoppable action hero who can just brute-force through every obstacle. Players will need to carefully and tactically manage their resources, which will be incredibly scarce, and makeshift melee weapons, like pipes ripped straight from the walls, will degrade and break over time.
It’s a balance, and hopefully, it works well in the final product. I’m game for a challenge, but at the same time, I despise when games crank up the difficulty just for the sake of it. I should be scared when playing a game like ILL, not frustrated.
The team expanded on the game’s loop:
You’ll have to think on your feet: deciding which resources to use now, what to save for later, and assessing the specific types of monsters in front of you to properly leverage the environment and your position. So yes, players will need to stay sharp and adapt, but we don’t want the experience to be frustratingly difficult.
First and foremost, we want the action to be fun, even amidst the unfolding bloody nightmare. For us, it’s all about striking that perfect balance between survival horror and action.
ILL has far surpassed a million wishlists, and it’s fast becoming one of the most anticipated horror games ever made. Are you looking forward to ILL? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that a Wolverine actor will be in GTA 6, and for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter
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.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
Comments