Steel Seed is the upcoming sci-fi odyssey from Rome-based studio Storm in a Teacup alongside publishers ESDigital Games. Telling the story of Zoe, a human consciousness embedded into a robotic body, players will navigate parkour-style through a compellingly designed industrial, planet-sized facility, battling all manner of artificial intelligence on the quest to survive. Launching April 22nd, herere twelve in-game features to look forward to. Post-cataclysmic world A more vivid descriptor than commonplace post-apocalypses, in Steel Seed youll navigate through the carcass of a planet-sized mega-factory, a world developers Storm in a Teacup describe as post-cataclysmic. See, a catastrophic event has left humanity on the brink of distinction, and with Earth uninhabitable machines sought control of the last remnants of humanitys survival. Their AI-dominated underground facility is vast, haunting, and evocative, with towering industrial landscapes and eerie biodomes the venues for a narrative said to explore what it means to be human. Drone companion Kobys flight mode You awaken as Zoe, a human survivor within a robotic body. With no prior memory, Zoes journey becomes one of self-discovery (plus the overarching goal to find her father) but throughout her mission shes accompanied by Koby, a prototype drone who can assist her in numerous ways. By entering Kobys flight mode, Zoe can analyse surroundings, scan for paths and throughways, and interact with the environment such as flicking out-of-reach switches and engaging with mechanisms. Stealth gameplay Steel Seed is a stealth-action adventure, with regular stealth staples like shadows, distractions, and the environment key to successfully sneaking around. Numerous approaches to stealth can be adopted too, with the game not imposing one specific way to tackle an area stalked by numerous enemies. If you decide not to engage, you can crouch-walk Zoe through patches of holographic long grass. However, silent takedowns are, of course, present, with flashy kills possible from above, behind, and below. Stealth gameplay here resembles more of a sandbox style, with Storm in a Teacup founder and Steel Seed game director Carlo Ivo Alimo Bianchi bringing in expertise gleaned from formerly working on the Hitman series. Using Koby for stealth Observing enemy patrol patterns is a tried and tested method for a stealthy approach, and whilst weve already touched on Kobys ability to scan the environment its worth repeating here that whilst assessing the lay of the land ahead Koby can add tags to multiple targets thatre visible to both the drone and Zoe. Knowing when and where your enemies will walk gives rise to silent takedowns or complete evasion. That holographic grass we mentioned: Koby can learn skills such as the ability to drop patches of said digital grass for areas that dont have enough cover. Parkour and platforming In this sprawling subterranean facility parkour and 3D platforming are the principal means in which Zoe can get about. So, leaping over gaps, grabbing handholds, balancing over ledges, wall running, leaping to yet more handholds all adorned with typical yellow paint is the name of the game, and whilst all these classic parkour manoeuvres arent strictly unique to Steel Seed its this machine-built world a facility designed for machines, not humans which will provide unusual hazards and layouts, distinct interest in 3D platforming. Dynamic combat As per its Steam page, in Steel Seed youll face off against various enemy types and challenging bosses, each with unique abilities. Now, we havent seen much in the way of enemy variety in official gameplay footage shared thus far, but during an interview with publisher ESDigital Games brand manager Ilia Svanidze she spoke of Zoe encountering turrets, dual knife wielding Stalkers, and hulking Brutes in addition to weaker, simpler patrolling robots. When cover is blown and fighting becomes inevitable, Zoe has access to light and heavy attacks which utilise her glow-in-the-dark neon blade. Enemy blows are extremely powerful, so dodging also proves integral the flow of combat. Perfect dodge If players can dodge an enemy attack at the precise time, then theyll execute a Perfect Dodge which will allow Zoe to unleash a special attack which deals an immense amount of damage. Perfect dodges emit a vibrant pulse of pixelated light, with the example shown via official gameplay of Zoe then barrel-rolling over the top of a lurching enemy, her neon blade scything through their servos like a hot knife through butter. Fingers crossed therere heaps of special attack animations as perfect dodging seems like the most satisfactory method of wiping out Zoes enemies. Using Koby in combat Drone companion Koby isnt just useful for scanning the environment. No, his front-mounted cannon makes him a useful sidekick during battle too. His firepower can be aimed squarely at an enemys weak points which provides a momentary stun in addition to dealing damage. Kobys ranged attack capabilities extend to environmental objects too, in particular explosive barrels which can be shot from afar to blast multiple enemies to scrap. Upgradeable abilities During battle, Zoe and Koby will gain XP which can be ploughed straight into skill trees. Zoe possesses two skill trees whilst Koby has one and encompassing all three is a vast selection of passive abilities and primary skills and itll be up to players how they distribute their XP. Its been stated that skill trees cannot be completed during a single playthrough, so players will need to consider which abilities they wish to unlock. In total there are forty skills available, with some examples being damage bonuses, cannon unlocks for Koby, or abilities to scan further into the environment. Notable ability hacking One ability that has been prominently highlighted during official gameplay is the ability for Koby to hack enemies, so during one of Zoes silent takedowns instead of slicing her robot enemy in half Koby will visually scan the enemies head to presumably reprogram them to fight alongside the pair. Its only a temporary switching of allegiance for the robot, but as demonstrated in gameplay this hacking ability will prove especially fruitful during encounters where Zoe is overwhelmed. The hacked robot will kill their allies, but furthermore provide a useful distraction for Koby to unleash his ranged firepower, or for Zoe to escape the situation entirely. Secrets and hidden areas Steel Seed is not an open world. Instead, missions are linear in design but each biome harbours numerous secrets, hidden areas, and multiple paths through. Itll be down to Zoe and Koby to identify these secret areas, with collectibles the reward for scouring levels clean. These collectibles include audio logs and documents, items which will flesh out the game world to provide backstory on how the tragic events of humanitys capitulation occurred. Locating hidden areas will be integral to understanding Steel Seeds story to the fullest. Thought-provoking sci-fi narrative And to that end, Steel Seed is promising a thought-provoking sci-fi narrative which will have players considering the significance of humanity, of the perils of technology, of trust, resilience, control, and despair. This isnt simply going to be a tale of survival but a meaningful journey whereby a deep and compelling narrative propels players through.