PSX 2015: Klaus PS4 Preview

Imagine awakening from blackness with no recollection of who you are or where you came from. The only clue is the name Klaus tattooed on your arm. Are you Klaus?

This is the premise of La Cosa Entertainment’s upcoming 2D puzzle platformer. Lucky for me, Creative Director Victor Velasco and his team brought their project (and some answers) to PlayStation Experience this past weekend and were nice enough to run through a demo with me.

At its core, Klaus is a project of passion. The small staff has taken elements from classics in their favorite genre and added layers on top of them to freshen the experience. Each section of the game adds new elements to increase the complexity while never leaving the player feeling overwhelmed.

A Paramount Narrative

One of the ideas stressed by Victor was that while they didn’t want to slow down the game’s flow with cutscenes, a strong narrative was paramount. They achieved this by telling the story through text that appears as Klaus moves forward through the environment ala PS3’s rain. Who, what, and where the dialogue originates from remains a mystery early on.

Puzzles are initially simple but make good use of the DualShock 4 including the touchpad. As they increase in complexity, so does Klaus’ awareness of himself. Hidden levels will also aid in this process (and ultimately unlock the game’s true ending). Each area of the game is a representation of Klaus’ emotional and mental state of being. The bond this creates between Klaus, the player and the environment is captivating and I look forward to seeing it fully realized in the final product.

Klaus is not alone on his journey of self-realization. In the PSX demo, I was introduced to the bruting strongman, K1. While Klaus uses his technological abilities to hack computers and open doors, K1 simply busts down walls. Additionally, K1 is graced with the abilities to glide and uppercut which both come in handy. The introduction of K1 adds a co-op like element to the gameplay where both the skills of Klaus and K1 must be used to solve puzzles. One cool mechanic in this section was the ability to control both characters at once. Not only does this help save time but it adds to the game’s unique appeal.

The gameplay of Klaus is rock solid but my fascination with the story was what drew me in. I won’t reveal all that I know of the title’s twists but I will say that fans of strong narrative shouldn’t be fooled by Klaus’ simple appearance. Look for La Cosa’s Klaus to release on PlayStation 4 January 2016.

PSX 2015 On Site Gallery

PlayStation Experience 2015

The enormous autograph wall allowed fans to share in their PlayStation love.
Ratchet

Waiting in line to pick up his badge, Stephen gets a glimpse of his first PlayStation character!
Badge Pickup Desk

Heading to the third floor to watch the keynote!
Keynote

The hall was packed with PlayStation fans eagerly awaiting Sony's announcements.
Final Fantasy VII Remake

What a way to open the show! We were excited to get a glimpse at more of Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Battleborn

Randy Pitchford talks more about the upcoming beta for Battleborn.
Street Fighter V

Fighting fans rejoiced as more was announced for Street Fighter V.
PlayStation VR

The PlayStation VR offering was expansive, with two floors of virtual reality units ready for players to try out.
Dead Star

Dead Star is a competitive, twin-stick, MOBA style game, featuring 10 v 10 battles in space! Keep an eye out for our preview soon!
Destiny: Sparrow Racing League

Chandler previews Destiny's Sparrow Racing League ahead of its Dec. 8th release.
Dark Souls 3

This enormous fountain was a photo op that sprayed "blood" from the body of the fallen soldier.
Dark Souls 3

Here's the blood fountain in action.
MLB: The Show Trophy Bar

Want an easy way to grab a beer and play some baseball? MLB: The Show's trophy bar offered both!
Uncharted 4

No, the main game wasn't playable, but anyone missing the multiplayer beta of Uncharted 4 was able to play the multiplayer at this enormous booth.
PlayStation Vue

Not only were the games on show, but PlayStation's media features were given a focus too, with this booth giving more information on Sony's PlayStation Vue service.
PlayStation 4

Who can resist checking out a variety of PS4s, DualShock 4s, and that sweet PlayStation VR headset?
Abzu

The underwater game that evokes feelings of titles by thatgamecompany was playable on the show floor.
Helghast

Stephen is caught by some Helghast for being an ISA spy. Fortunately it was all just a misunderstanding and we were allowed to go about our business without further delay.
Disney Infinity

Disney usually brings their massive arch of Infinity figures, and they were showing off the latest additions to Disney Infinity 3.0 at the show.
RIGS (Livecast Stage)

The creators of RIGS talk more about the competitive VR game on the livecast stage.
RIGS (Livecast Stage)

The creators of RIGS talk more about the competitive VR game on the livecast stage.
Capcom Cup

Sunday morning the Capcom Cup gets underway!
Tim Schafer (Double Fine)

Tim Schafer sits on the livecast stage to talk about the games that Double Fine is bringing to the PS4.
Battleborn

A huge display showcases some of the characters from Battleborn.
Hob

Indie game Hob was popular despite being tucked along one of the walls.
Far Cry Primal

Fans got a chance to tame beasts in Far Cry Primal's first playable showing.
Abzu

Due to the lit up sign, this picture's exposure turned out pretty cool.
Destiny

Destiny's guardians wandered the show floor keeping guests safe from the darkness and waiting for a Gjallahorn drop.
Masquerada

Chandler is shown indie game Masquerada by one of the devs.
Randall

An enormous statue of the character from Randall looms over their booth.
Uncharted 4

Walking by the Uncharted 4 booth kept having us question if we were still in San Francisco.
Drawn to Death

An enormous notebook for fans to doodle on. Who knows, maybe David Jaffe will take future character inspiration from it?
PlayStation Network

The back wall was a showcase of the PlayStation Network and its media features.
LEGO Hulk Battle

It's Hulk vs. Hulkbuster in this fight of epic LEGO proportions.
LEGO Hulk Battle

It's Hulk vs. Hulkbuster in this fight of epic LEGO proportions.
MLB: The Show Trophy Bar

Because just one picture of the place where you can get beer at the show isn't good enough.
Livecast Stage

The livecast stage was host to a number of awesome events, talking to developers and showing off games.
RIGS

The RIGS demo station pitted two teams against each other in one of the most desired demos at the show.
Yoda

This giant statue of a Disney Infinity Yoda is bigger than Yoda would be in real life.
Destiny Sparrow Racing League

If only this Sparrow had an actual engine so that we could race around the show!
Destiny Sparrow Racing League

We're ready to race our sparrows for some loot!
Chandler and Kratos

Chandler met Kratos and somehow survived the experience!
Stephen and Ratchet

Ratchet's a movie star now, and Stephen just had to get a picture with him on the red carpet.
Chandler and Ratchet

Ok, Chandler decided to grab a picture with Ratchet too.
Atoi and Iota

Chandler and Stephen take a moment to visit with messengers Atoi and Iota.
Fat Princess

Fat Princess needed some protecting from the minions of darkness! Luckily Chandler and Stephen were on the scene with funny hats and menacing looks!
Kat (Gravity Rush)

Stephen had to ask Kat what manipulating the world's gravity was really like.
Uncharted 4

You've seen those Uncharted 4 trailers with the crazy vehicle driving? Turns out it was Stephen behind the wheel!
PlayStation Experience 2015

PlayStation Experience 2015 may have come to an end, but you'd better be certain that PlayStation LifeStyle will be on the scene to cover the show again when it comes back next year!