Narrative FPS Industria 2 challenges an alternate dimension malevolent AI in 2025

Developer Bleakmill and publisher Headup have announced that Industria 2 will take players on yet another dimension-hopping journey when the narrative FPS launches on PC next year.

2021’s Industria saw players fall through dimensions on the evening of the Berlin Wall’s fall, attempting to find their missing colleague while solving a mystery across time and space. It’s a short but rich narrative first-person shooter with puzzle elements, and its sequel sounds like it’s sticking to the original’s formula.

Industria 2 aims for 2025 release via Epic and Steam

While we don’t have a more definitive release date outside of 2025, the gameplay trailer shows a fairly well-fleshed-out section of the game. It could be delayed if the developer feels it needs more time to polish everything off, but right now, it looks good enough that I’d expect it to hit at some point over the course of the year.

The first game was released for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. At the time of writing, platforms for Indusria 2 only list PC storefronts like Steam and Epic, but there’s plenty of time between now and next year.

If you think this game looks even a little bit like BioShock and Atomic Heart, you’d be right. In fact, Industria was released before Atomic Heart, and I’d say it nails that gritty on-land aesthetic of the undersea narrative epic much better. Industria 2 will also feature upgradable weapons, much like the games that inspired it, and a distinct sense of robot body horror — the grotesque little details equal parts offputting and intriguing to my tastes.

The Industria 2 story visits an AI-ruled hellscape

The story of Industria 2 is still shrouded in mystery. According to the information provided by the game’s publisher, players will embark on a story that sends them into an alternative dimension where a malevolent AI has run amok. I believe the machines we see in the trailer, as well as the bulbous growths on the building, are parts of that AI.

Both of these machine-like bear a resemblance to the Hive enemies of the first game. This AI, also known as the Atlas Program, has some signature design elements, such as large spheres with holes covering their surface. The trailer also shows how someone has willingly entered a building where this AI is obviously present while others on the radio warn them to stay away. I can’t say for sure, but it’s possible that the player will need to either purge these AI structures or use them to hop between dimensions while avoiding the AI.

While the trailer details nothing of the gameplay mechanics, the first entry was notable because of the way puzzles intertwined with the paranormal nature of the world and those living in it. First-person shooting was at its heart, and the weapon in this trailer easily confirms that the same meaty gunplay should, at least, be involved. I’m hoping for more narrative elements that will make me question reality personally.