Samson A Tyndalston Story Will Draw Inspiration From Mad Max and Just Cause, Liquid Swords Confirms
Following its reveal at the PC Gaming Show Most Wanted 2025 Showcase, developer Liquid Swords has published a detailed FAQ outlining the creative vision and core gameplay pillars behind Samson: A Tyndalston Story. The full breakdown was shared via an official Steam FAQ post, offering new insight into combat, driving, progression, and the studio’s inspirations.
Given that Liquid Swords was founded by the creator of Avalanche Studios, it comes as little surprise that the team openly acknowledges influences from Mad Max and Just Cause. According to the studio, players familiar with Just Cause will recognize an emphasis on physics driven movement, momentum, and emergent systemic interactions. However, Samson deliberately avoids spectacle for spectacle’s sake, opting instead for a grounded tone where every action carries consequence.
The Mad Max influence is more apparent in close quarters combat and vehicular encounters. Liquid Swords describes combat as heavy, personal, and deliberate, whether fought on foot or behind the wheel. Rather than relying on predefined weapon loadouts, players are encouraged to improvise using environmental tools such as wrenches, tires, and debris. While a wide range of melee weapons can be stored in vehicle trunks for tactical planning, the environment itself is always meant to provide viable alternatives. Damage is designed to feel impactful both mechanically and visually, with environmental destruction and visible wear reinforcing the weight of every encounter.
Driving plays a central role in Samson’s identity. Vehicle handling is designed around mass, inertia, and physical feedback, with clear distinctions between vehicle types. Players can commandeer virtually any vehicle they encounter, though Liquid Swords notes that civilian drivers will not be forcibly removed from vehicles in a traditional sense, a design choice that hints at morally complex interactions rather than arcade style hijacking. Law enforcement responses escalate dynamically based on player behavior, while civilians and other non player characters react organically, choosing to flee or fight depending on the situation.
At a price point of 24 dollars and ninety nine cents, Samson is positioned as a tightly scoped narrative driven experience rather than a limitless sandbox. Liquid Swords estimates that the main story, which follows Samson’s race against time to repay a mounting debt, will take approximately 10 hours to complete. Optional side content can extend total playtime to around 25 hours. These activities include vehicle focused jobs such as underground racing, high risk hits, daring escapes, theft operations, melee combat encounters, and surveillance style missions used to gather intelligence. Completing these tasks feeds into a progression system built around skills and perks that support different playstyles.
Notably, Samson will not feature selectable difficulty modes. The developers have chosen a fixed difficulty curve, stating that players will experience the challenge exactly as intended. Liquid Swords also addressed technical concerns, acknowledging the inherent challenges of optimizing an open world title. The team emphasized that optimization has been a priority since early development and confirmed support from Epic Games, as Samson is built using Unreal Engine 5.
Liquid Swords is currently targeting an early 2026 launch on PC, with console versions planned to follow at a later date due to the studio’s relatively small team size.
With its focus on grounded physics, systemic combat, and narrative driven structure, Samson A Tyndalston Story is shaping up to be a deliberate and restrained take on the open world action genre, blending familiar influences into a more focused and personal experience.
Do you think Samson’s grounded approach to open world action can stand out in a genre dominated by excess, or will players still expect larger scale chaos inspired by its influences?
