Shadow of the Colossus-inspired action-survival game Praey for the Gods has been trucking along since hitting its Kickstarter goal in 2016, with regular newsletter updates charting its progress (though it was last in the news for having to change its name after a trademark dispute with Bethesda). The latest newsletter doesn't show off any god-slaying combat, but it does show off something almost as enticing: a new climbing system that lets you grappling-hook to any rock surface and climb, climb, climb. Developer NoMatter Studios doesn't specifically call out The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as an inspiration, here, but it's a safe bet the freedom of the latest Zelda has made everyone reconsider the climbing in their games.
"A large part of our game is climbing and we weren’t using it as much as we should have," the newsletter says. "Then we ripped the band-aid off and just set all terrain to 'climb.' Currently, it means the player can climb the ground (we’ll fix that)... but overall it's awesome!... The freedom and the overall sense of exploration went through the roof. That, coupled with the improvement to the overall scale, really felt epic."
The update also shows off a new feature that goes hand-in-hand with climbing: a glider, which will let you parachute off high peaks after you've proven you can climb them.
"I was worried it would break bosses or make them too easy," the newsletter continues. "It actually does the opposite and it makes the combat way more awesome and epic. Also, you now have a much more strategic choice to climb up and then try to leap to a boss with a little more range… This is something we’ve found makes the game and world come alive. With our storms you can quickly get into trouble as you think you are safe but the wind gusts will push you around and cost you precious stamina, and could also push you into harm. If you are lucky you can use your grapple hook with it and overall movement in the game feels insanely fun and freeing."
Praey for the Gods is one of the first games we've seen to directly channel part of what made Nintendo's latest Zelda game such a joy to explore, but it certainly won't be the last. You can read the full update here, which talks about other features coming to the (mercifully not Early Access) survival game as it progresses.