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First Look at ‘Sundown’, Rare’s Canned Horror Game Inspired by ‘The Thing’
Almost exactly two years ago, I shared a list of horror games that might’ve been great, had they not all been canned at some point in their development. Among the games on that list was a survival horror game called Sundown that was announced in 2006 by Banjo-Kazooie developer Rare only to get cancelled early on so the studio could focus on two other projects.
Sundown could’ve been huge, with its parasitic twist on the post-apocalyptic genre and a cast of frightening creatures that would’ve been at home in Dead Space or John Carpenter’s The Thing. They were even planning to tie it into a movie or TV series. It’s too bad, because this freshly exhumed concept art makes it look super creepy.
I’ve taken a few screens from the video so it’s easier for you to get a good look at the beautiful assortment of faces the concept artists at Rare were able to come up with before Cthulhu gargled an incantation that transformed the game into vaporware.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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