Rebellion Developments announced the upcoming sequel to their video game Evil Genius and put out a short reveal trailer at the PC Gaming Show today at E3. Evil Genius 2 is the first official sequel for the game in fifteen years; the original game came out in 2004.
In light of the trailer, gamers can expect a similar experience to the original where the player controls a self-styled evil genius hell-bent on world domination and destruction. If they want to take over the world, gamers will need to successfully manage their lair, which appears to be located underneath an active volcano in this installment.
The first Evil Genius—currently available for $9.99 on Steam with an average 9/10 rating with over 1800 reviews—is a real-time strategy simulation game in the same vein as the respected classic Dungeon Keeper, developed by Bullfrog Productions and Electronic Arts.
In the short, one-minute trailer, a tiny, monocle-wearing Dr.Evil look-alike commands an army of henchman, who run around constructing a lair underneath a lone volcano on a desert island. The screen moves from a birds-eye view of the island to a series of moving blueprints, as dozens of little yellow henchmen hammer away, bringing the facility to life. In the next scenes, we see the henchman training to become specialists—soldiers, builders, and perhaps scientists—while a sneaky spy infiltrates the base attempting to avoid henchman, lasers, and traps to get to the evil genius, who is seen planning various evil deeds from a room with a world map.
Gameplay will undoubtedly require players to balance these twin elements of the game: lair management and defense, while also executing evil missions in the world abroad.
Evil Genius 2 screenshots (from @Rebellion) pic.twitter.com/TyZs6GErRq
— Miclee (@MicleeMods) June 10, 2019
Similar to other games in the particularly niche Dungeon Keeper-style, Evil Genius‘ gameplay is based on running and improving a small base of operations while fending off intruding enemies. Instead of building a dungeon to trap and destroy the forces of good, Evil Genius is not based in a medieval fantasy world. Instead, the game takes place in an alternate universe 1960s or ’70s where hilariously cliché espionage, in the style of any classic James Bond film, is quite real.
Unlike in James Bond movies, however, the protagonist in Evil Genius 2 is the villain.
Because of an utter lack of similar titles for this niche genre, fans of Dungeon Keeper-style games will likely appreciate Evil Genius 2, even if it brings few new elements to the series. But, at this point, gamers have little reason to fear the sequel won’t provide something newly exciting after fifteen years of waiting.
Rebellion did not include an official release date with the trailer, but when it is finished, Evil Genius 2 will be available on Steam.
