Talking Doctor Who: Edge of Reality with Maze Theory's Russell Harding and JAW's Stewart Gilray

Despite it being one of the longest-running shows on television, we really haven't seen too many console games over the years centered around the Doctor Who universe. Sure, we've seen a handful of mobile releases, a collaboration within LEGO Dimensions, and a rather poorly received title known as The Eternity Clock on PS3 and PS Vita, but fans have yet to receive a true must-have experience. Launching this September, Doctor Who Edge of Reality strives to fill this void, as it's a fully-fledged console experience that has been developed with input from the series' showrunners. The game is an extended version of the 2019 VR exclusive Edge of Time, and it's set to feature new enemies, reworked gameplay, and an appearance from David Tennant's 10th doctor.

Recently, I had the opportunity to catch up with Maze Theory's Studio Director Russell Harding and Stewart Gilray, CEO and Founder of Just Add Water to find out even
more about the game and what fans can expect when it releases on September 30.

With the series embracing the medium of video games like never before, I was curious to learn whether the developers thought the game would be approachable to those who haven't seen a single episode of the show. Stewart told me: "I think it can be, but it has been built as something for the Who fans first and foremost - that's why there's a lot of easter eggs that only Who fans will get." He continued: "At its heart it is a narrative-led adventure game effectively and if you've played those games in other IPs or original IPs then the experience will not be a million miles away." The narrative appears to be pretty self-contained with the team saying "it's in it's own space, time, and universe," so luckily you don't need to go back and binge watch 50 years of TV if you're looking to get started.

I was also interested to hear whether it was worth delving back into for those who have already played Edge of Time. Stewart detailed: "Edge of Time is 20% of Edge of Reality, so it's a bigger game, more puzzles, more to do, bigger locations, different puzzles, etc - It's just based off of what Edge of Time started out as." He also mentioned that some areas such as the original forest in Edge of Time have been rebuilt completely and that puzzles have been altered to work more intuitively outside the realms of VR. He added: "There's a puzzle in the Starship, for example, where you had to use your hands to move things around and now you just press square to interact with it, so it's a lot more simplistic to some degree, but also, to me, it makes that puzzle a lot more fun than it was before."

Something that struck me when speaking to the pair was how much effort the team had poured in to try and make the project as faithful to the TV series as possible. Maze Theory and Just Add Water has received input and guidance from the showrunners (something that is a rarity for other licenced projects) and they have worked alongside an internal group of fans to gather feedback and ensure that no boundaries from the show have been broken. Additionally, they received help on the sound from Nick Briggs, who, as you might be aware, has provided voices for many different monsters such as the Daleks and the Cybermen over the years. Stewart told me: "you're not going to get any closer than that for audio."

As I touched upon earlier, David Tenannt's 10th doctor has been teased to be within the game and it will see the actor step back into the role for the first time (outside of radio) since his departure in 2013. It is also the first time that the actor has voiced the 10th doctor for a core console game, which is pretty monumental. Whilst the team were understandably reluctant to share too many details, they did tease:"He turns up in a few locations in the game and some of it kind of addresses things from the 10th time as a doctor."

The 10th doctor isn't the only new addition to the cast this time around, as Maze Theory has contributed to the universe themselves and crafted their very own antagonist known as the CyberReaper. This threat has previously been described as "an ominous foe with a terrifying purpose." When asked about this new villain, Russell told me: "It is testament to the team that the BBC has trusted us to create quite a significant character to the lore."

With our interview concluding, both Stewart and Russell shared with me some of the things they are most excited for as the game approaches release. Stewart said: "I want to see the fans' reactions to some of the things we have included in there. There's one level in particular that has a very good 'behind the sofa moment' and I want to see whether fans react the same way that we did." Russell followed up by saying:"I'm really excited to see how fans who played Edge of Reality take to the more expanded worlds and the new foes, but also the deeper levels of depth we've managed to go into."

Dr. Who: Edge of Reality is set to release on September 30 on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.