Following its announcement at The Game Awards 2023, Marvel’s Blade has new concept art that offers a tantalizing look at the art style developer Arkane is going for.
Marvel’s Blade is in the works at Arkane Lyon, the studio behind the critically acclaimed Dishonored and Deathloop (the poorly received Redfall was primarily developed by Arkane Austin).
“In Marvel’s Blade, Eric Brooks is the legendary Daywalker, half-man, half-vampire torn between the warm society of the living and the rushing power of the undead," reads the official blurb. "From Bethesda and Arkane Lyon, the studio that brought you Dishonored and Deathloop, Marvel’s Blade is a mature, single-player, third-person game set in the heart of Paris, now in development in collaboration with Marvel Games.”
Now, courtesy of Arkane art co-creative director Sebastien Mitton, we have three pieces of concept art for Marvel’s Blade (with the concept art created by Arkane’s Sergey Kolesov and Jean-Luc Monnet).
We see Blade on a rooftop overlooking the streets of Paris, stealthily witnessing what looks like a scuffle outside a nightclub (we all know about Blade’s history with nightclubs), and a fight on the Paris Metro, with a train packed with vampires in the foreground.
Arkane Lyon is known for its striking art direction, with the likes of Dishonored and Deathloop standing out from the crowd for their distinctive visuals. Marvel’s Blade appears to be going down the same route, eschewing photorealism for something more painterly, or perhaps even cartoony.
Arkane Lyon is in the hiring phase of the Marvel’s Blade project, so it may be some time before we see gameplay. Arkane owner Bethesda, itself owned by ZeniMax, which in turn is owned by Microsoft, has yet to announce the launch platforms for the game, leaving fans to speculate about whether Blade will be a PC and Xbox Series X and S console exclusive, as Starfield and Redfall are.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
