Science-fiction and fantasy are two of the biggest genres in fiction. They’ve coexisted for thousands of years, with mankind looking for new stories to tell about the future and the unknown. While video games are a more recent form of media, they are no exception in following this trend, and often mix tropes together. Few places make this more clear thanProject Eve, recently previewed at the PlayStation Showcase 2021.
The protagonist, Eve, engages a race of monstrous creatures in high-flying displays of combat. Setting details are sparse at the moment, so it remains to be seen how much the supernatural plays into the source of the NA:tives and Eve’s own powers. Some ofEve’s monstrous NA:tives certainly look fantastical, with chainsaws on their heads and an infested space station that bears some resemblance to a biblical angel.
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Much of why this game received so much attention after its new trailer was because of its strong resemblance to another science-fantasy game:NieR: Automata.NieRhas a strange setting that connects magic and technology in ways which often obscure one or the other despite both being present.NieRandProject Eveare just two of the latest games in a long tradition of combining futuristic and technologically advanced elements with some sort of magic system.
The Early Years of Science-Fantasy in Gaming
Science-fiction has been a subtle part of fantasy since Greco-Roman times, and the myths of Icarus and Talos the bronze giant show some surprisingly forward-thinking ideas like flying technology and automatons. However, some of the first famous video game interpretations of science-fantasy came from a different source.Dungeons & Dragonsinspired the first fewFinal Fantasygames, but was itself inspired by a number of older works. These influences include the post-apocalypticDying Earthfantasy novels by American author Jack Vance. A direct throughline can be traced from the abandoned tech in theDying Earthuniverse to the anachronistic airships, space stations, and combat machines in earlyFinal Fantasy.
Square Enix’s works and RPGs in general continue to be pioneers of adding science-fiction elements in fantasy games, or vice versa. EvenThe Elder Scrollseventually got in on the action with someruins of the ancient Dwemer raceguarded by deadly machines and traps. It seemed like any attempt to add some extravagant elements to fiction almost inevitably attracts both science-fiction and fantasy.
The Modern Era of Sci-Fi Fantasy Games
The 2010s have given rise to a number of high-profile sci-fi fantasy projects in the lead-up toProject Eve.Final Fantasy 13and15were both notable for attempting to merge either the future or the present-day, respectively, with magicalFinal Fantasysettings. The whole oftheFabula Nova Crystalliscollectionhad a science-fantasy feel, with the games being set in eras of their particular worlds where technology had simply become more widespread. Meanwhile, theNieRseries was building toward the release ofNieR: Automata, which is the second game in aDrakengardside series.NieRis predicated on an alternate ending toDrakengardwhere Caim and his dragon fell into modern Earth, leading to magic entering the world.
The mark of recent science-fantasy video games seems to be fusions of magic and technology so tight it’s difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. Magic exists in theNieRuniverse, and the entire cast ofAutomatais made up of machines with magical abilities. Otherscience-fantasy games such asAstral ChainorScarlet Nexusmake use of special spirits or psychic powers to explain their magic in otherwise futuristic settings. The proliferation of science-fantasy has reached a point whereFinal Fantasy 16is actually making a conscious effort to return to earlier days when fantasy was more dominant.
Project Eveseems to take afterNieR: Automata, wherein the fantastical is tightly woven into the fabric of all the mechanical and monstrous mayhem. With the recentTales of Arisehaving opened with a magical interplanetary army conquering a neighboring planet, it seems the science-fantasy trend is here to stay. Fans should look forward to whatProject Evebrings to the table.
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