The Precursors

Lore & Background

The Precursors is set in a futuristic sci-fi environment where many political factions are engaged in an intergalactic war. The player can explore a multitude of planets, travel through outer space to complete missions, obtain information, and buy weapons and supplies in an open world free-roaming environment. The game features a free-roaming world with vast open areas, diverse weapons, and a multitude of land, air, and space vehicles. Players can engage in missions on six different planets or moons, as well as inside spaceships and space stations. Vehicles range from simple buggies and flyers to hover tanks and mechanical robots. After obtaining a spaceship, players can engage in space trade and combat with other factions. The player's spaceship can be upgraded, and the player character can be developed using a perk system.

There are seven main factions: two alien factions and five humanoid factions split into separate alliances that are usually fighting each other. These factions are the Empire, the Democratic Union, the Free Traders, the Clatz of the Nest, the revolutionary Clatz, the bandits, and the civilians. The game was built on Deep Shadows' in-house Vital Engine 3, which also powers White Gold: War in Paradise. It was first demonstrated in August 2005 at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, and at E3 in Los Angeles in May 2006. The Xbox 360 version was cancelled; in May 2010, a spokesperson confirmed the console version was put 'on hold' indefinitely.

Reader's Guide

The Precursors received mixed or average reviews from critics, with an average score of 68/100 on Metacritic. Its significance lies in its ambitious open-world design within the first-person shooter genre, offering planetary exploration, space travel, and a faction system. The game's development history includes a long gestation period, with initial demonstrations in 2005 and a delayed release in 2009. The cancellation of the Xbox 360 version and the eventual digital-only English release highlight the challenges faced by the Ukrainian studio. After official support ended, the game community fixed remaining bugs and issues, such as missing voice overs in the localized English version, through unofficial patches. These patches form the base of and are included in the current English digital distribution versions. The game's legacy is tied to its cult status among fans of open-world sci-fi shooters and its connection to the Parkan series and White Gold: War in Paradise, also by Deep Shadows.

Did You Know?

• After official support ended, the community fixed bugs and missing voice overs via unofficial patches.
• The Xbox 360 version was cancelled and put 'on hold' indefinitely in May 2010.