Cast your mind back to last year, which currently feels like it was roughly several thousand decades ago. People were allowed out for more than one walk a day, the term "furlough" was a nonsense word to most of us, and we'd just learned that a game based on the hit BBC series Peaky Blinders was in development.
Yes, March 2019 saw the exciting announcement that production studio Endemol had partnered with publisher Curve Digital and developer FuturLab to develop the very first video game based on the award-winning TV series. And then everything went quiet. Until now.
In an exclusive reveal, IGN has announced that Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a top-down puzzle game headed to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch this Summer. Check out the first trailer below (or right here).
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While it might not be the open-world Grand Theft Auto-style Peaker Blinders game we've been dreaming of, let's face it - it was never going to be. What we've got instead is a really rather interesting looking puzzle adventure with some genuinely unique ideas under its belt.
You'll take control of six members of the infamous Shelby family at once, making use of a neat rewind feature that lets you scroll back and forth through levels to guide each character past obstacles. Some of the family might have to find their way around enemies using violence, while others get by with stealth. No matter what though, it looks like things can get messy pretty quickly.
Each member of the Shelby family also comes with their own unique skills. Tommy, for example, is threatening. Arthur is a pro at brawling and kicking down doors. Polly is great at bribes and lockpicking. John is yer man for arson and brawling. Ada is great at causing distractions. And Finn is a dab hand when it comes to sneaking and pickpocketing. Each level will offer players the chance to make use of skills in various ways.
"There's a point in the show where Tommy Shelby explains he has no concern for the past, nor the future," Game director James Marsden told IGN about the thinking behind Mastermind's core mechanic. "All he cares about is a crucial moment he calls the soldier's minute."
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"We designed our game around that idea, allowing the player to plan actions backward and forward in time, choreographing an ensemble cast of characters to synchronise their actions during these crucial moments. The player gets to feel like the smart and sophisticated leader that Tommy is, so we think becoming the mastermind will resonate with fans of the show and gamers alike."
Peaky Blinders: Mastermind has been made in collaboration with the show's creator Steven Knight, and the game's story will act as a prequel to the first season. At the moment it has a rough release window of this summer, so get ready - and remember: no fighting. Well, unless you feel like it.