New Steam Game Could Either Be the Caliber of Red Dead 2 & Cyberpunk 2077 or MindsEye & The Day Before, and I’m Conflicted

Paradark Studio, an independent game studio based in Krakow, Poland, recently showcased footage for a game titled ExeKiller. At first glance, I was immediately enamored by the entire vibe and design of the world—the main focus so far, it seems. At second glance, a pit formed in my stomach because this is either the greatest game since Red Dead 2 or Cyberpunk 2077 (Phantom Liberty era), or it’s another The Day Before or MindsEye situation.

To be honest, it’s more instinct than anything else telling me this. EA’s new Skate game loves to tell you to use your Skater Eyes, and while that is a bit cringe, I think there’s some truth to insight like that. “Gamer Eyes” will always flag when something is generative AI, when something about a game’s trailer or presentation is not authentic, or when something is too good to be true or too nonsensical, such was the case with “games” like The Day Before and MindsEye. There can be a lot of hope around these titles, perhaps speaking to the good nature of kindly folk, but just as many suspicions. I don’t know, let’s look at it—and you tell me if my suspicions seem unfounded or not.

My first thought when looking at ExeKiller is that it looks damn good, like ‘how has this game not been on my radar’ good, like ‘you might as well stamp “Joshua Duckworth” on this game because it looks like something tailor-made for me’ good. But following that thought was, wait, how can that be? ExeKiller is Paradark Studio’s first game, which means it’s relatively unproven. That isn’t necessarily a red flag, but it is a beige flag, even if I’ve heard Unreal Engine 5 praised to kingdom come and back (save for optimization).

What is ExeKiller: A Game That Vibes With Red Dead, Cyberpunk, and Fallout

ExeKiller is set in New York in 1988, except it’s been destroyed by the “Great Fire Disaster,” which set most of the world on fire 20 years prior. This caused the mass extinction of life on Earth. That’s a bit corny and hard to imagine, and the setting doesn’t necessarily look like a game set in New York. It’s more like a game with New York iconography. It looks more like how I’d imagine New York’s wider wasteland looking in a Fallout game. Only 30% of mankind apparently survived the Great Fire Disaster, with Earth having only a few areas left safe for life. In the wake of the Great Fire Disaster, governments fail and corporations seize control. There you go: Cyberpunk 2077.

Set in a wasteland with Fallout vibes, facing technology like S.O.U.L biochips and corporations like Cyberpunk 2077‘s dystopia, it is also clearly Western-inspired. Really, it’s almost like The Great War happened in Night City, and Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place in the resulting wasteland. That’s your elevator pitch for Exekiller.

ExeKiller Protagonist & Features

You take on the titular character in Exekiller, named Denzel Fenix, a futuristic bounty hunter. Your main goal is to hunt bounties and collect the S.O.U.L. biochip components, which retain information from their owners and can also control them. Of course, these biochips are produced by one of the strongest corporations remaining on “New Earth,” who remain unnamed. It could be the same company the player works for, Helion, which exists in a building that towers over the ruins of New York. Fenix apparently discovers something throughout the game that puts him in the sights of several powerful factions, so he is apparently both hunter and hunted.

As far as gameplay features are concerned:

• PLAYER DRIVEN STORY – Choices affect not only the way the story develops, but also every situation you face, offering massive replayability. I ain’t Gen Z, but can I say it’s giving MindsEye?
• CHOICE IS A PRINCIPLE – Players are never limited to one path or solution for every encounter. This emphasis on choice promises to make every playthrough unique and change the outcome of NPCs, dialogue options, and possible endings.
• A VAST OPEN WORLD – The world is described as both beautiful and lethal, complete with diverse regions ranging from deserts and canyons to deadly highways to radioactive fields. I ain’t Gen Z, but can I say it’s giving Fallout? Furthermore, it’s worth noting that the official website calls it a vast open world, but the Steam page calls it a semi-open world environment. As of this writing, it’s unclear which is accurate.
• HUNT OUTLAWS – Players can decide to kill them, bring them to justice, or set them free. While doing so, players can leverage stealth options, various types of weapons and gadgets, various gameplay abilities, stealth situations, or talking your way out of problematic situations.
• EVER-CHANGING ENVIRONMENT: ExeKiller‘s landscape shifts between a day/night cycle, dynamic weather, and radioactive sun storms.
• UNIQUE SETTINGS AND VISUALS: Exekiller describes its art style as “combining retro-futuristic technological advancements with post-apocalyptic scenery—all served with a western movie vibe.” That’s where the Cyberpunk, Fallout, and Red Dead hodgepodge comes from, then. It promises that its visuals are designed to transport players to the 1970s…despite taking place in a destroyed 1998.
• UNIQUE CHARACTER PROGRESSION – Exekiller is described as an action-adventure game, not an RPG, likely because there is no XP or leveling up. Instead, the player’s progression is tied to the choice of mods, augments, and tech implemented in weapons.

I Am Hopeful, But Suspicious, of ExeKiller

Everything sounds like a promising feature list, especially when compared to the gameplay videos and screenshots of it. But something feels off. Beyond just the conflicting information, which could probably be explained (1970s vs 1998, vast open world vs semi-open world, the unserious nature of the world-ending “Great Fire Disaster”), it just seems too good, too tailored. Beyond just the vibes too, the world and story it promises give me serious hope that it is a game equal to the caliber of its inspirations like Red Dead, Fallout, and Cyberpunk. On the other hand, MindsEye talked a good talk and The Day Before knew how to get gamers’ attention, and I can’t shake the feeling that ExeKiller is more of their caliber than others. It could end up somewhere in the middle too, I suppose, but something just feels off.

To be cringe, use your gamer eyes—are my suspicions without basis? Either way, ExeKiller is on my radar now. I just hope it’s because the game lives up to the quality it promises and not the playbook used by non-games like MindsEye and The Day Before. I would absolutely love to be proven wrong here.