6 Things We Know About Judas

Key Takeaways

• A new sci-fi game,
  Judas,
  by Ken Levine, features a heroine named Judas who faces complex challenges.
• The game shows religious symbolism with the protagonist named Judas, who attempts to atone for her actions.
• Players will interact with “The Big Three” holograms in various ways, impacting the journey aboard a multi-generational spaceship.

Ken Levine was a name players had not heard from in a long time, not since the release of BioShock Infinite back in 2013. Then in 2022, his name suddenly popped up again with the announcement of a new game, a sci-fi shooter called Judas. Seeing him come back was a pleasant surprise for many, but also came with some confusion. The trailers for Judas left more than a few questions. What exactly is Judas? It’s difficult to say. Between the teasers, interviews with Levine himself, and released gameplay footage, it is possible to discern some information about the plot, though a lot of the game is still under wraps. Some have gotten into the habit of calling it “BioShock in Space” due to obvious gameplay similarities, though this is an extreme oversimplification of a much more complex game.

The full game includes some ambitious promises, including a whole mechanic Levine likes to call “Narrative LEGO” that is supposed to create a unique experience on every playthrough. A lot of the game is still under wraps, making it hard to paint a full picture, but putting together what is available reveals an interesting picture of what fans might expect from this game.

6 The Heroine

Judas Tried To Start A Revolution

There are a lot of details about the game that are harder to discern, but one thing that is clear is the identity of its protagonist. The player character is a woman named Judas, who seems to be… not particularly fond of the current state of affairs. The trailers consistently show her covered in dirt and blood, dressed in a simple tank top, giving the impression she has been through a lot. That is confirmed with first-person shots in which Judas is seen getting into fights with guns, fists, and cybernetic upgrades.

From what is described, she apparently has quite a history with this place. She blew the whistle on the fact that the “Big Three” are robots, sending the Mayflower into chaos and causing a lot of the problems currently taking place. Because of this, she is disliked by most of the ship’s passengers. There is also the curious detail that the latest trailer opens with her body being reprinted, implying she died at some point before it starts.

5 There Might be Some Religious Symbolism Going On

They Picked a Very Curious Name

One very curious decision made by Judas is the choice of name for its lead, and the game itself. Why call the protagonist, and the game itself, “Judas” of all things? It is a very unusual name for a girl. The most likely explanation is a deeper meaning. Perhaps one of the most notorious people to go by that name was Judas Iscariot, the disciple said to have led the Romans to Jesus Christ, ensuring his crucifixion. Many denominations of Christianity view this as the ultimate betrayal, resulting in Judas becoming a symbol of disloyalty over the years. It is probably no coincidence that Ken Levine chose the name of a man with a reputation as a traitor. From what has been revealed about the plot, the “Judas” featured in the game is similarly viewed as betraying the people aboard the Mayflower, and is seemingly responsible for a catastrophe that has happened aboard. This is most visible in one first-person clip where a woman spraypaints a “J” onto Judas’s shirt, seemingly intended as a way of shaming or marking her.

Interestingly, the game does put an unusual spin on the idea, one that makes the traitor more relatable. Judas was responsible for everything going wrong, but the tagline of the game is “Fix what you broke.” Judas may be responsible for the mess, but she is also key to cleaning it up. Essentially, unlike her Biblical namesake, this Judas seemingly spends the game trying to atone for her crimes by putting them right.

4 The Big Three

The Three People Who Can Make (Or Break) Judas

In addition to Judas herself, we have also been introduced to a trio known as “The Big Three” — Tom, Nefertiti, and Hope — who run the ship. All three were originally robots until they got separated from their bodies and turned into holograms. They also have their own goals, and can be allies or enemies depending on Judas’s actions. Tom wants to ensure the mission goes as planned, Nefertiti believes humans need to improve by turning into machines, and Hope wants to end her miserable existence.

In a way, it updates an aspect of the original BioShock, which had the choice to save or harvest Little Sisters. Dr. Tenenbaum would reward Jack for every sister he chose to save, which usually came in the form of life-saving supplies and unique plasmids. Now imagine if, in BioShock, there was a mechanic where Jack could affect his standing with Tenenbaum, and she could react in kind. If Jack harvested too many sisters, Tenenbaum could get vindictive and hinder him by say… blocking his escape from a room full of Splicers.

This is the idea behind the Big Three. Helping any of them can lead to unexpected rewards further down the line, but getting on their bad side can also have unexpected ramifications. As an example, spending too much time helping Hope could lead to Nefertiti or Tom actively sabotaging Judas in unexpected ways. The example given in the released footage is Tom locking a door to trap Judas in a room full of hostile robots. Managing relations with all three is part of the challenge, especially since their differing values mean helping one can cause problems with another.

3 The Setting

A Strange Ship In The Distant Future

BioShock and BioShock Infinite both take place in a failed utopia, a theme Ken Levine seems to love, since it continues with Judas. In this case, the game takes place on a multi-generational spaceship called the Mayflower that is supposed to be bringing its passengers to a new world. Unfortunately, that didn’t quite go as planned, and now the ship is stuck in an asteroid field orbiting the planet with no way of safely reaching it.

Naturally, chaos erupts, and the Mayflower is slowly falling apart while its passengers and robots run rampant. Similar to the audio logs in BioShock, Judas will be able to find pieces of information scattered around the ship that offer clues about its history and the full extent of the disaster. Her ultimate goal seems to be to get the ship back on track and headed toward the planet.

2 Enemies

Judas Has To Defend Herself Against Strange Robots

From what has been indicated, the majority of enemies in Judas will be robots who used to serve mundane functions aboard the ship, only to turn hostile after everything went wrong. One of the more common robots to encounter is the deputy, which looks like a cowboy with a horse’s head and tail. Presumably, deputies were intended to be Tom’s security detail (continuing his sheriff theme), but went berserk along with the other machines. A more unsettling enemy is the dentist, a transforming dental chair equipped with a drill that it… misuses, to put it mildly.

However, while most of the game’s enemies are robots, it is possible Judas might also have a few human enemies to deal with as well. The woman who marks her with a “J” and orders her execution is probably one example. This would be consistent with the idea that Judas is an outcast whose actions prior to the game’s opening have caused problems, likely giving other passengers a few reasons to be vindictive.

1 Traces Of Bioshock

There Is Clear Influence From Ken Levine’s Masterpiece

BioShock players might have noticed one aspect of Judas’ gameplay which seemed very familiar. The BioShock games revolve around ADAM, a DNA-altering substance which can give the user special powers when fitted into plasmids or vigors. The original BioShock also had a hacking mechanic where the player could turn machines to their advantage. Judas appears to be combining the two.

Judas has a small green device in her left hand that gives her unique abilities, with plenty of options to choose from. There are some tricks that might be familiar to BioShock players, like being able to electrify water to take out multiple enemies at once, but there are a lot more options for hacking.

Hacking mechanics in the original BioShock was useful, but mainly did two things. It could make robotic enemies fight each other, or it could hack vending machines to reduce prices. Judas adds a bit more variety. For instance, Judas can make robots fight for her, but there are several different programs she can run for how they do so. One of the featured clips showcases this with Kamikaze Mode, a command that makes a robot charge into other enemies and explode.