Fantasy games are commonplace in the video game industry. Every year brings with it a plethora of medieval fantasy games, ranging from the Elder Scrolls series and Final Fantasy to FromSoftware’s Souls series and games based on Dungeons and Dragons. There’s no short supply of traditional fantasy games, but the same can’t be said for modern fantasy. If CD Projekt Red’s project Hadar adopted a modern fantasy setting, then it could fill a pretty big niche left in the current gaming landscape.
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Why CD Projekt Red’s Hadar Could Work Well As a Modern Fantasy
Modern fantasy, also known as urban fantasy, takes all the traditional fantasy tropes like mythical creatures and magical items and transports them to a modern, contemporary setting that more closely resembles the present day. Though these modern settings often have a few key differences from the real world, it’s not uncommon for a modern fantasy to be set in cities that are nearly identical to those today, such as New York City or London. A few popular examples of modern fantasy include Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, the Percy Jackson franchise, and City of Bones.
CD Projekt Red has had a fairly extensive history in the fantasy genre, with the developer having worked on The Witcher since 2007. Though The Witcher has some modern themes and a satirical nature, the franchise well and truly belongs to the fantasy genre, with tons of mythical monsters, magical beasts, and sorceries. The Witcher is set primarily in the 13th century of The Continent, and it takes heavy inspiration from European folklore, firmly cementing the series as traditional fantasy.
The developer’s most recent title, Cyberpunk 2077, takes the opposite approach, instead being a Sci-Fi fantasy game set in the futuristic cityscape of Night City. Here, The Witcher’s horses are swapped out for fast cars and bikes, and its medieval architecture is traded for a neon-soaked metropolis. CD Projekt Red has experience in both a futuristic and traditional fantasy setting now, so for its brand-new IP, maybe it should mesh the two together.
With experience in both ends of the fantasy spectrum, CD Projekt Red is perfectly poised to deliver an experience set right in between, in the genre of modern fantasy. Project Hadar could embrace the modern fantasy genre and sets its story inside a world that resembles the current day’s, only with plenty of magical abilities and monsters. This would allow CDPR to transfer over the lessons learned from The Witcher series while also offering a distinct new experience for fans. Adopting the modern fantasy genre would also help Hadar to stand out from other RPGs on the market, as this subgenre isn’t often seen. The most well-known modern fantasy games are titles like Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy 7, and The Vampire Masquerade, meaning that there’s plenty of room left for project Hadar to stand out.
Project Hadar is in development.
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