Jack the Ripper, for a long time, was a world-wide invested mystery surrounding the serial murders of women in Whitechapel, London back in 1888. A war on the impoverished, the nature of the murders had historians stumped which led into many movies, series, books, and even games inspired by the gruesome deaths of five women. The team at Visceral Games were no stranger to gore, as seen in their Dead Space series, but it seems that they were planning on tackling the Ripper himself as well.
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The cancelled game was called The Ripper and was meant to put a dualistic spin on the murderer. Yes, the game would have portrayed his gruesome kills but it was also meant to show a more sympathetic side to the character as a person. Visceral loved to mess with people’s heads and this is definitely one way to do just that.
According to Polygon, The Ripper would have had players be Jack himself as a retelling of a story told hundreds of times prior. This wouldn’t be the standard re-hash of events, but instead a creative spin of what took place in those dark streets of Whitechapel long ago. An even bigger twist? They weren’t innocent women, they were ferocious vampires masquerading as ladies of the night.
Though as a personal fan of history and a weird fascination with serial killers, I have to admit – this idea is intriguing to me. I would absolutely play this narrative in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, not everyone felt that way and it was seen as humanizing a horrific event of the past. Polygon also revealed that Jack would also have vivid bouts of PTSD attacks, hallucinations, and the world itself would be drenched in a horror-filled mirror version of itself – there were a lot of controversial themes at play and because of that, the beginning of the project’s downfall.
Unfortunately, we will never know all of the sordid details because the project never saw completion. Though there are plenty other medias to enjoy Jack the Ripper‘s story from a more fictional perspective, the game itself was canned alongside the studio itself last year when EA abruptly pulled the plug.
Would you have wanted to see this interpretation of the Jack the Ripper murders? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below and tell us what you think!
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