Twisted Metal is one of Sony’s oldest IPs, with its roots dating back to the days of the first PlayStation console. It was a series that consistently had new entries during the PS1–PS2 generations, with the last entry being the 2012 reboot on the PS3. After years of lying dormant in the Sony archives, fans would be right to assume that it was an IP that Sony had laid to rest and didn’t see a future for. Then we got the news that a Twisted Metal TV show was in the works, and fans started hoping that a video game revival would be next. We know that a new Twisted Metal is in the works at one of Sony’s studios, presumably Firesprite, although we know nothing about what it is. To celebrate the launch of the Twisted Metal TV show on July 27, the WellPlayed team has decided to go to the drawing board and pitch our own Twisted Metal video game reboot.
Zach:
With PlayStation’s 10-year Call of Duty deadline in play, PlayStation needs to get to work on creating an FPS that will help mitigate the impact of losing COD should Microsoft not extend the deal. That’s why PlayStation should reboot Twisted Metal as a multiplayer co-operative heist shooter with vehicular combat – Twisted Metal Survive. I know what you’re thinking but hear me out.
Set in a post-apocalyptic American future where the world has been ravaged by a deadly human-made disease that turns people into creatures known as the Calypso Virus, the surviving humans live in colonies spread across the US and must fight one another for resources. Each colony has its own set of stats (medical, food, defence etc.) and players (as characters from the Twisted Metal franchise) will go on missions in three-player teams to recover resources for their colony while competing against other human survivors, as well as creatures.
The FPS stage will be a mix between Hunt: Showdown and Rainbow Six Extraction. Just like in Hunt, players will need to find clues to the whereabouts of precious resources. Once a team finds the resource, they can begin extraction, which is where the car combat comes into it. To successfully extract, the team with the package (who will have added health or some other advantage) must make it to their colony’s safe zone or eliminate other players in vehicular combat. Other players can take down and steal the package for themselves but must make it to their safe zone.
Now that I have your attention, can I have your pre-order?
Rhiannen:
The depth of the Twisted Metal game, and now TV series, seems lacklustre compared to the masterpieces of gaming storytelling we are now used to. So, my approach would be a reboot of the ‘brand’ that is Twisted Metal, especially collaborating with either Forza Horizon or Fortnite. Imagine a whole map (similar to the Hot Wheels DLC) in Forza dedicated to wacky and intense racing, with liveries galore drivers would experience driving like never before. Players could enjoy arenas specifically set up for combat purposes as well as playground games themed around Twisted Metal.
Fortnite could easily adopt the Twisted Metal brand by creating skins, weapons, and areas of the map where players can go crazy in weird and wonderful ways. Players would engage in vehicular combat within themed cars with unique abilities, as well as participate in challenges and mini arena/group objectives as they battle it out for the coveted crown win.
Mark:
I feel like there are way too many post-apocalyptic tales out there, and not enough about a wild road trip to save Earth from a devastating (albeit super dumb) reason. So, here’s what I’m thinking:
Twisted Metal As Anything, an action-RPG crossed with a Burnout Paradise open-world, that has the fabled clown go on a manic escapade through real-world locations, bent on ending everything just because he can. Your chosen driver goes on pursuit, decked out in the latest tech (and a cool racing jacket, of course) in the hope of avoiding disaster and pocketing some cash from various NPC’s along the way. But be mindful of Sweet Tooth’s many minions, who will do just about anything to put you down and end the world. Samoa Joe cameos, naturally.
Ash:
Look, Twisted Metal has a weird and wonderful history. The games play fast and loose with canon, mechanics can shift and shuffle – and finding an outcome that pleases the majority of fans is going to be a right kerfuffle. So, my idea is simple – take a leaf out of Ed Boons’ books, and refresh your franchise with the ‘nonsensical but strangely fitting crossover game’.
BUT ASH, I hear you say, TWISTED METAL IS A VEHICULAR COMBAT GAME, NOT SOME SULTRY FIGHTING GAME TART LIKE “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe”. Well hold your horses friend, because do I have a mindblower for you.
Vigilante 8. Yeah, that 1998 vehicle game that middled on the PlayStation 1 but absolutely slammed on the Nintendo64. It had outrageous characters, weird and wonderful vehicles – and a ton of carnage just waiting to slam into the grander cast of Twisted Metal. Who doesn’t want to see a lunar rover suplex an ice cream truck? What about a bloke suspended between two giant wheels, chasing down and exploding a school bus that has a gaseous fart as its signature move? Story wise, you can borrow the best avenues of both games to create something unforgettable. Pinch the 1975 era setting of Vigilante 8, and slam in the otherworldly presence of Calypso and his twisted metal tournament. Have factions erupt between both titles, with new friends and enemies collaborating for the first time. Create a game that lifts the best of both offerings, and somehow creates a rich new experience moving forward. To continue with the weird Mortal Kombat analogy, people keep forgetting that MK vs DC was really the main launching point for what Mortal Kombat is today – so why not crib from their white paper and pave the way for a whole new world of Twisted Metal.
And Vigilante 8, because fuck it why not. I need my boy Boogie back, with his lethal disco ball.
Nathan:
Until the series has a AAA reboot with an overhauled brand and vision, let’s step sideways. I’m talking about a mid-budget spin-off from a competent smaller studio that can redress this car combat bonanza. Anime or cartoon visuals from a top-down perspective, with vehicles and weapons controlled with both analogues in a twin-stick shooter fashion. Of course, players will want to burn through malls and cause ground-level carnage through cityscapes with the ability to seamlessly crash through the foyer of buildings and set off all manner of explosives or lay traps in ambush.
As for the characters, let the team go crazy with creating a new generation of motor-headed psycho-crims. Lastly, include a Mario Kart-esque battle mode where players seek to eliminate other players by popping their three balloons attached to the rear of the vehicle (or blow their chassis in a rain of shrapnel). There’s a seasonal Battle Royale mode in here somewhere.
Adam:
Sure, the Twisted Metal games of yesteryear found popularity through vehicular violence and off-kilter characters, but it’s a new era, and people’s interests have changed. Colliding cars is great and all, but with a dangerous tournament being held every year that everyone wants to see, now they want to experience the logistical planning that goes on behind the scenes.
That’s why Twisted Metal needs to return to screens as a management sim. Calypso is seen as a wish-granting benefactor of the Twisted Metal tournament, but you just know that his hard work extends far beyond shaking the hand of the winner.
In this new entry, we would play as Calypso, scouting and signing fresh talent to the tournament, all while balancing the personalities of the participants, the variety of vehicle types on offer and keeping things exciting by introducing events and returning favourites as the competition continues.
Sure, it’s unlikely that as a malevolent, mystical figure you would need to appease sponsors and network executives, but everyone has a boss, so Calypso could have the desires of a higher power to focus on. Whatever the narrative hook is, I just think we need a Twisted Metal reboot that’s a cross between Football Manager and Rollercoaster Tycoon. Who’s with me?
James:
Alright so how about Twisted Metal…but make it gay. My pitch for a reboot is Twisted Metal: Runaways, a tale of two fully customisable lovers who are forced on the run when the scary clown or the Calippo icy poll get mad at them. Think Bonnie and Clyde but instead it could be whatever pairing you want (the two dudes would be canon though, I’m sorry, that’s just how this is gonna break). Once you’ve designed your Bono and Clive, you’ll be introduced to the game’s core mechanic, the ability to build two unique vehicles to switch between at any moment. One could be a bruiser with offense in mind, the other a sleeker model optimising speed and mobility.
You’ll use these two cars in the game’s relatively linear, narrative-focused campaign. Via a mission structure, you’ll be sent off into either small open zones for arena combat, or forced to partake in cinematic races that require different win conditions to progress the story. In either mode, you’ll be able to switch between your cars at any time too. In between combat and racing, the story will play out in live-action cutscenes ala Quantum Break, with your player characters always suspiciously just off-screen to get around the customisation fuckery. Also did I mention it’s gay?
Loading ...What’s your pitch for a Twisted Metal reboot? Be sure to let us know in the comments below and on social media.
