Criminals Within is an upcoming action-adventure co-op game set in a medieval fantasy kingdom and developed in Unreal 5 Engine by indie studio Space Rock Games. The Criminals Within official reveal trailer shines the spotlight on a comedic encounter with its two playable protagonists (Jarel the thief and Helena the royal guard) and dragons. In the trailer, viewers may notice some potential parallels with DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon movies, as Jarel hilariously attempts to steal treasure from a massive purple dragon, with questionable success as even more dragons take interest.
There are many video games that use comedy to great effect, whereas others can sometimes try a bit too hard to be entertaining. The Best War Games recently spoke with Space Rock Games' Managing Director Zsombor Pirok about Criminals Within's tone of humor and how important comedy is in the game overall. Pirok also explained more about Criminals Within's inspirations from video games and movies, potentially contextualizing the presence and role of comedy in the game.
Criminals Withins' Inspirations From DreamWorks' Movies
When asked about Criminals Within's key inspirations, Pirok named a mixture of video game and movie inspirations, including Fable: The Lost Chapters and How to Train Your Dragon, the latter of which is arguably one of DreamWorks' best-animated movies yet. As Pirok explained,
When it comes to the DreamWorks movies, we wanted to provide the same experience with this game as those classic movies did (How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek, Road to Eldorado, etc.), where every part of the family, regardless of age, could have fun. I watched these movies as a kid and loved them, but when I watched them again as an adult, I found all the hidden adult jokes that made my parents, and now me, laugh.
Judging from the kids-friendly movie inspirations listed, it makes sense that Criminals Within looks to be a family-friendly co-op game with comedy elements. Jarel and Helena each possess unique combat abilities and shared ones, and Pirok described how players must work together through two-player co-op to be victorious. It will be interesting to see what comedic moments Criminals Within's duo bring to the game, with their contrasting characterization and skill sets, plus how accessible and entertaining the adventure game experience might be for different age groups. However, gameplay footage and images seen so far look promising.
How Criminals Within's Comedy And Tone Of Humor Meets How To Train Your Dragon
Some of the best and funniest dragon encounters in the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy involve its unique and personality-rich dragons, such as when Hiccup meets and makes friends with Toothless for the first time. Toothless seems to be a fierce and menacing dragon at first but then shows his true colors as a goofy, playful, and lovable creature. Where comedy is one of How to Train Your Dragon's key selling points, Pirok also described comedy as "one of the core aspects" of Criminals Within and explained more about the game's similar tone of humor,
As for the type of humor we are aiming for, I think the best way to describe it is the style classic DreamWorks movies have - probably How to Train Your Dragon and The Road to Eldorado being the prime inspirations for the comedy. Fun fact, Jarel's original design was massively inspired by Miguel and Tulio.
Information about Criminals Within's protagonists and dragons revealed so far, like the adorable-looking pug dragon, seem to feature unique designs. However, details about their potential individual personalities remain to be seen, along with how much they and other characters add to the game's intended tone of humor and DreamWorks' comedy vibes. It will be intriguing to discover more and see how exactly the game incorporates comedy into its approach to fantasy adventure gameplay.
Criminals Within is currently in development.