Developed by Muse Games – the studio behind the award-winning Guns of Icarus Online – Embr is a fantastically fictional look at a world where the gig economy rules the roost and the general public now stand ready, phones in hand, to respond to your firefighting emergencies.
While I was at PAX East 2020, Embr was one game that had caught my eye. I’ve known of the game for quite some time and not long ago we published the announcement Curve Digital will be helping with the game. This game really catches my eye on my part as I’m also a healthcare worker when I’m not running Marooners’ Rock. So having fun on this idea of trying to save lives in a game as well is a plus.
As Howard Tsao, Team Lead at Muse Games explains, ultimately Embr puts a premium on players having fun – even when they’re failing.
“Embris certainly not your everyday take on firefighting,” continues Tsao. “The whole idea behind Embris to cast a comedic light on just what madness would occur if the untrained masses headed out with a hose and tried to put out fires in the same way people deliver take-out or ferry folk around in makeshift taxis. Turns out it’d be just as magnificently manic as it sounds. It just makes you appreciate what a difficult and almost impossible job real-life firefighters do.”
Embrwill offer players a variety of missions to earn money and upgrade their firefighting tools and lease better vehicles and fire trucks, all while dealing with competition from the Canadian firefighting startup Hosr. Staying competitive, however, relies on players working together, planning firefighting and rescuing in dense environments with complex systems interactions; water, fire, gas, electricity, and structure integrity all have a role to play.
“Whoever said you need to get things right for a game to be fun? Embris the perfect example of a title that makes the most of people messing things up,” adds Simon Byron, publishing director at Curve Digital. “That’s not to say that Embrdoesn’t have something to say, however. The humor built into play gives Embroxygen to take a frank look at a world where the gig economy is top dog. That combination of wit and wisdom was too potent for us to overlook, and we can’t wait to see how players take to it.”
Embr will launch on Steam Early Access on Thursday, May 21st, 2020 for $19.99/€19.99/£17.99 with a 20% discount in launch week. Players can expect multiple free major content drops in the months after launch significantly expanding the game. Muse Games will also continue to diligently work with the community to further shape the Embr experience based on feedback and suggestions.
