BioWare’s “Nightmare” Teaser Hints at Something Completely New

We’ve known for a while that BioWare hopes to expand its horizons from its two current hit franchises, Dragon Age and Mass Effect, and try something outside its currently established universes, but a newly released teaser shows just how far off its previously traversed paths the developer is willing to go. The newly released “Nightmare Teaser” features no aliens, dragons, or space-dragon aliens, but instead shows us a desperate dreamer and ominously asks, “What really happens when we sleep?” Take a look:

The video is accompanied by this short blurb: “The time is near. They are watching. Your power is rising. Cologne, Germany. You’ve Been Chosen.”

So, then, what can we expect from this new BioWare IP? It’s always hard to judge based on teasers like this one, which shows only a live-action concept rather than any gameplay, but given the tone of the trailer and the content of the blurb, some paranormal action accompanied by horror elements seems forthcoming. Unlike many commenters on the official teaser site and the YouTube video page, though, I’m not convinced that this will be full-on survival horror, as there’s plenty of room for horror elements in other game styles.

Regardless, this IP looks refreshingly different from BioWare’s previous offerings—showing that BioWare isn’t content to just rest on its laurels, which is great news for all of us—and it will be a joy to see the developer put its considerable talent to good use in ways we’ve never seen before.

GameSpot speculates that the name “Shadow Realms” is related to the teased IP, based on its being contained in the file name of an image found in the original email promoting the teaser, and having been trademarked by EA earlier this year.

For those of you interested in attempting to glean more about this project straightaway, IGN reports that two websites apparently connected to the trailer footage have appeared: Seeking Henna and Woods-Watson Institute of Higher Learning. Otherwise, it seems we can expect more news from Cologne, Germany, at this August’s Gamescom.