With Crossfire, That’s No Moon Wants to Revolutionize Cover Shooters [PREVIEW]

Not unlike the super weapon referenced in the Star Wars quote on which the studio’s namesake is based, That’s No Moon has been building something in secret. This week at Summer Game Fest, GameRant finally got to see what That’s No Moon has been cooking up all these years, and what they have revealed is an industry-pushing experience constructed on a foundation of cinematic narrative combined with a set of revolutionary systems.

By now, you have likely seen the reveal trailer for Crossfire, That’s No Moon’s single-player tactical cover shooter. You might have a lot of questions after seeing the footage, and luckily, I have some of those answers. Not all of them, mind you – That’s No Moon is only just starting its promotional beats – but I can give you a good sense of what it is the studio hopes to achieve with its first title.

Storytelling is a Key Pillar of Crossfire

That’s No Moon is a studio constructed of video game development veterans who have cut their teeth on a diverse array of titles. But if there were to be a through-line for the key leaders’ past work, it would be single player narrative-driven experiences like Uncharted and God of War. They hope to build on the lessons learned from working on those games to deliver a cinematic experience unlike anything players have seen before.

To achieve that goal, That’s No Moon has set its studio within the former home of House of Moves, a motion capture studio known for its work on video games and movies alike. House of Moves previously supported The Lion King reboot production, but now it’s That’s No Moon’s home base, or moon base, if you will.

That’s No Moon isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to performance capture, but the studio is finding ways to make things even more cinematic. While we didn’t get to see much of that in the game, we did see an example of the tech the team is using to achieve that. Specifically, TNM has put motion capture markers on its cameras and used accomplished film DPs to shoot its cinematics, so that they can bring as close to a film-like quality to Crossfire’s cutscenes.

High quality cinematics are crucial for Crossfire because of the narrative it is trying to tell. As Layla Qassem, players will need to survive an existential threat, but that requires forming an unlikely alliance with Delroy Cross. Cross is your companion on this journey, but you don’t have any direct agency in his actions. It’s up to That’s No Moon to have you believing that this is a character you are working alongside and to develop a connection in the same way Layla will. To feel empathy for a character that you should be initially wary of. That only works if the performances and writing are strong enough, and while we only saw glimpses of that in the trailer, TNM certainly has the pedigree to achieve that lofty goal.

The Next Era of Cover-Based Shooters

Much like trying to bring greater realism to Crossfire’s cutscenes, That’s No Moon wants to deliver a new level of realism in its gameplay. The key to that is the game’s adaptive cover system, which does away with the waist-high boxes in favor of rugged, deformed terrain that Layla will use to break line of sight with enemies.

TNM has created a 3D safety environment, an invisible oval zone that surrounds Layla and determines how she interacts with cover. She’ll crouch down, go prone, or peek around a rock, for example, based on its height and where an enemy might be. I can’t imagine how challenging that is to achieve, and That’s No Moon says it’s only possible with Unreal Engine 5, but it has the potential to be a game-changer for cover shooters.

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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.