Goosebumps trickled across millions of fans’ bodies at last year’s E3 conference as Santa Monica Studios rolled gameplay footage of their PlayStation 4 exclusive God of War. Before the new God of War game, it seems that the California based developers were working on another IP (intellectual property) code named Darkside. Unfortunately, the title was cancelled (or at the very least, put on hold). Now, concept art images have leaked, giving us a look into a world that may never be.

A few years ago, the studio underwent some budget cuts and layoffs. Darkside was an unannounced project that, due to the layoffs, was seemingly scrapped. According to sources, 3D Concept Designer Erik San Juan had uploaded some concept art of the cancelled game onto his personal website. The images have since been removed, but have been re-uploaded on Imgur. In the gallery below, you will see some of the incredible designs of the characters and different alien species that could have been featured:

Within the gallery, we get a glimpse of human characters as well as a humanoid species that resemble mermaids of some sort. Due to the amount of “merman” designs, we can assume that the species, maybe even their home planet, had much to do with the plot of the game. There are also some very obvious enemy concepts that depict a kind of demon or mutant being as well. The design of the armor/space suits worn by some of the space travelers look to be a sort of mash up between Halo and Mass Effect styles. One of the most eye catching photos in the gallery is that of the fish-like humanoids riding extraterrestrial unicorns. The presence of a giant squid also entertains the idea that the alien species had a lot to do with an aquatic theme.

Santa Monica Studios never officially announced that the game was in development, but it most certainly looks like a lot of work went into the concept of the title. The game’s title, Darkside, is purely speculation based on the URL of the original posts on San Juan’s website. which can be seen in a screenshot below:

The leak also included some details about the game. Please keep in mind that these have not been confirmed or denied by Santa Monica Studios. With the studio’s partnership with Sony, the game more than likely would have been released on the PlayStation 4 console as an exclusive. The time-frame in which the game would take place is speculated to be the year 2034. With a year so close to our present year, one could guess that the plot might involve humanity’s first contact on an alien world. The estimated year is due to a mission titled, “Ark Mission Genesis – A.D. 2034.”

We may never see the game come to fruition, but the concept art is incredible. Most of us enjoy video games without really taking into consideration how much time and effort goes into creating these epic adventures. Seeing a gallery of concept art is kind of eye opening into the passion that goes into these projects. If you check out the full gallery, you will notice subtle differences in the character designs that reflect a lot of communication between the directors and artist.

What do you think of the concept art? Judging by the gallery alone, would Darkside seem like the kind of game you’d be interested in? Let us know in the comments section below, and be sure to stay tuned with DFTG for all of your gaming news.