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Blade Runner 2022
Blade Runner is a 1997 point-and-click adventure video game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive for Microsoft Windows, released in November 1997. Though based on the 1982 Ridley Scott film Blade Runner, this game does not directly adapt the movie but instead serves as a "sidequel", presenting an original narrative that runs parallel to the film's storyline while occasionally intersecting with it.
The game is set in 2019 Los Angeles and follows Ray McCoy, an elite detective tasked with tracking down a group of dangerous replicants—bioengineered androids designed to appear and behave like humans. Several characters from the film appear within the game, with some original actors reprising their roles through voice acting. However, Rick Deckard, the main character from the movie, does not speak in the game. His presence is referenced multiple times, he appears visually several times, and events from the film are mentioned. The game also recreates numerous iconic locations from the film, along with scenes and dialogues closely modeled on those of the original. Additionally, it includes musical excerpts from the movie's soundtrack.
The game was promoted as a "real-time 3D adventure game", distinguishing itself by being among the first in its genre to use both 3D character rendering and a real-time progressing world (as opposed to waiting for player input). While many contemporary games used polygon-based renderers that relied on 3D hardware acceleration, Westwood chose to develop their own software-based renderer using voxel technology.
Blade Runner received generally positive reviews and achieved commercial success, selling over one million copies globally. It earned the Interactive Achievement Award for "PC Adventure Game of the Year" and was nominated for "Best Adventure Game" by PC Gamer. Virgin Interactive expressed interest in having Westwood create a sequel, but concerns about production costs led to the idea being abandoned due to potential commercial failure. For years after its release, legal issues surrounding intellectual property prevented the game from appearing on digital platforms, until it was finally made available on GOG.com in December 2019. Later, Nightdive Studios and Alcon Entertainment released an Enhanced Edition for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on June 23, 2022.
Crew
- Designer
- David Leary, Jim Walls
- Programmer
- Louis Castle
- Artist
- Louis Castle, Aaron Powell
- Writer
- David Yorkin, David Leary
- Producer
- Donny Blank
- Music
- Frank Klepacki
Details
- Developer
- LucasArts, Westwood Studios
- Publisher
- Nightdive Studios (remaster), Virgin Interactive
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Modes
- Single-player
- Engine
- KEX Engine (remaster)
- Series
- Blade Runner
