The Persistence is set onboard a colony research vessel sent to study a collapsing star, but suffers a malfunction during a jump, landing it in the inexorable pull of a black hole, wreaking havoc on the ship and corrupting the Clone Printer. The ship’s computer attempts to save the day by reconstructing the deceased crewmembers, but unfortunately it also introduces hideous errors in the process, creating mutated copies of your ex-shipmates and transforming them into gibbering mutants.

You are the last survivor. Your mission? Restore functionality to The Persistence and somehow make your way back to Earth.

Playing as a crewmember awoken from cryosleep, you’ll navigate the doomed ship, try to get the engines back online, and escape the ravenous clutches of the nearby black hole. The Persistence is totally overrun, and these mutants won’t think twice about beating you to a pulp. Keep out of sight and out of trouble, leaning-and-peeking in PS VR to stay aware of dangers, perhaps taking time to learn enemy behaviors and coming up with new tactics for your next run. Movement uses FPS controls, so getting around is really easy, and you’re equipped with a short-range teleporter which is perfect for moving stealthily between cover.

[

The automated deck-configuring system has also been corrupted, so every time you die or activate the teleporter between decks, you'll face a new ship layout, different threats, and new opportunities. With each new life, you play as a fresh clone with her Engrams (her memories and personality) restored, and the opportunity to re-sequence her DNA to create more powerful clones in the future, like increased speed, health, and stealth that will help you stay alive long enough to complete the game, so taking time to understand the ever-changing world around you is crucial to staying alive. Deadly hazards are likely to get the better of you if aren’t paying attention, so learn to use them to your advantage. Try presenting yourself as tasty human bait to lure a mutant over an explosive floor plate for an easy kill! And die you will — death is an integral part of the gameplay loop.

As for weapons, your trusty sidearm is the Stem Cell Harvester, which syphons precious cells from enemies, with fatal results. The Gravity Bomb drops a miniature black hole to devour nearby mutants, while a Rage Serum injector grants you temporary super-strength for hand-to-hand pummeling. There are more conventional firearms, too, including a pistol that fires dark-energy-infused rounds.

If you prefer to be the hunter rather than the hunted, you’ll want to seek out weapon fabricators. Here, you can purchase any of the 20 different weapons carried onboard, including firearms, melee, and even some top-secret experimental ‘dark matter’ powered prototypes! You can upgrade each of them, and you’ll need to as you explore deeper into the dark and terrifying depths of The Persistence.

Your friends can help out by connecting to the game (local play only) with their phone or tablet and hacking into Solex, the ship’s engineering system. Once connected, players get powerful control over the game, including abilities to lure enemies, open doors, and disable traps. By helping you, your friends can upgrade their Solex system to unlock even more powers, like the ability to freeze enemies to help you escape.

But beware, sometimes your friends get big rewards if you die! With the ability to spawn new enemies and make them attack, can you really trust your friends to help you out?

Pre-order The Persistence now, and receive a super cool concept art Avatar Pack of some of the mutants, and a discount if you are a PS Plus member.

Exclusively for PS4 & PSVR, The Persistence will be launching on July 24, 2018.