Liquid Swords Announces Samson A Dark Open-World Noir Action Game
Samson, also known as Samson: A Tyndalston Story, is the debut title of studio Liquid Swords, founded under Christofer Sundberg—the co-founder of Avalanche Studios and Just Cause. Leaving behind prior games that gloriously linger on the edge of the absurd, this game now shines light on its gritty path, offering a dark noir action experience hinged upon consequence and survival.
Gameplay Debt Violence and Consequences
Samson has you play as the titular character, Samson MacKay, who finds himself encumbered with a debt that increases hourly. The game takes place in a world where sanity is somewhat absent, where time tends to work against the player. The other more immediate tool is within the open-world setting, hand in hand with violence.
The developers build a reactive city where the environment and NPCs react according to the player's influence on it. The gameplay also entails some specific systemic limitations
- Your Action Points are Limited A portion of this limited pool of points gets consumed per day per mission.
- No Second Chances You make your choice, and with that choice, you have altered how the city views MacKay.
- You Are Buying Time The interest on our protagonist's debt never stops growing, forcing the player to keep moving forward lest the situation worsen.
Response to Industry Concerns
Creative Director Christofer Sundberg considers Samson a project directed purposefully toward countering the current pressures in the gaming industry. He describes the game as "an unrefined grounded narrative which purposely avoids frivolity in favor of one sharp, driving purpose."
"This is the beginning of what Liquid Swords represents," Sundberg said, adding that the team fine-tuned every single detail in making a worldbuilt system that pushes against the player at every turn and every time.
Release Date and Pricing
Samson has set up its Steam page, although no specific date is yet listed. Liquid Swords verifies the release on PC in early 2026. The studio has deliberately set a rather low price of around $25, which they say means they do not consider it full-price AAA.
