We’re thrilled to announce that our Italian WW1 FPS Isonzo has a release date, and you can wishlist it now on Xbox! The battle for the Alps will begin on May 31, 2022. To celebrate the news, we have a trailer showing off a new map!
The battle for Italy was very different to fighting elsewhere during the First World War. The most obvious difference is the landscapes you’ll be fighting over. While there are trenches and barbed wire as you’d expect, instead of muddy fields and shell craters your surroundings are stunning mountain views, as you can see in the trailer.
One of the highlights of Isonzo is the maps based on specific offensives and locations from history – in Isonzo we aim to recreate the situations and challenges that soldiers would have found themselves facing. The town of San Martino del Carso is one example – it’s an important part of the Monte San Michele map, which in turn is one of the three maps which comprise the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo offensive. We did a lot of research including geographic data, trench maps, and key landmarks to establish a realistic base, and then build gameplay elements on top of that to fit the historical facts. As well as San Martino del Carso, there is the Schönburg Tunnel entrance, camps in the “doline” (sinkholes in the landscape), and trenches in the rock of the Carso plateau. The map in the trailer is based on the fighting for the “Sasso di Sesto” during August 1915 – this “small” mountain has a peak 2,539 meters (8330 feet) above sea level! For comparison, the highest altitude trench dug during the war was at an incredible 3,850 meters (12,630 feet), near the peak of the Ortler mountain.
We’ve worked hard to capture the feel of this epic battleground visually, but also in gameplay. One of the classes you can choose from is the Mountaineer, since every faction who fought in the Alps had some dedicated mountain troops. The Mountaineer is focused on mobility and support, being able to identify enemies and provide targets for artillery with his flare gun, boost the accuracy of player crewed mortars, and quickly navigate the battlefield while climbing and running. Other classes include Officers to lead assaults and shoot flares to target support (from artillery and gas to biplane recon), Assault troops with grenades and sometimes light machine guns, Snipers, the frontline Rifleman, but also the Engineer. They are skilled demolitionists, but in Isonzo it’s not only about destruction…
Construction at High Altitude
Soldiers during WW1 spent a lot of time building defenses – in addition to the well-known trenches, barbed wire and sandbags were often an essential part of any fortified position. Now players can establish strongpoints of their own by laying down wire and placing sandbags! The interface is simple, where you choose what you want to build and see a ghost of the item appear in front of you. Once you’re happy with the position, accept and then start building. Try not to get shot in the process!
In Isonzo we wanted to reflect how prevalent such defenses were during WW1, especially barbed wire, and it’s very possible to block the enemy team’s progress entirely with defenses and force them to fight through rather than simply being able to go around. Historically the Italian army had a tough time fighting through wire, and in Isonzo we aim to capture that kind of desperate fighting as you try to protect or force back engineers cutting and reinforcing lines of wire. Sometimes a whole battle might come down to one roll of player laid barbed wire!
Engineers don’t get all the building fun – several classes have perks which will allow them to place supply crates for ammo or grenades, and the Mountaineer can construct trench periscopes, which anyone can use to spot enemies from safety. And don’t forget that construction isn’t only for defenders – attacking soldiers have all the same options. Altogether, the construction options in Isonzo make for a far more dynamic battlefield and give players more options.
Prepare to scale the mountain soon…
Ahead of the release you can wishlist Isonzo on Xbox and follow us to get the latest development news as we add the finishing touches!
We’ll see you at the summit on September 13!
