Dark Star Game Studios is a Hong Kong-based outfit whose team is comprised of ex-Ubisoft, Blizzard and Konami developers. Its debut venture, Sinner: Sacrifice of Redemption, is a boss battling action role-player that echoes the likes of Dark Souls, Shadow of the Colossus and Dante's The Divine Comedy.

Filling the boots of deceased soldier Adam, you're tasked with thwarting a series of uber-tough bosses who're said to "represent the seven deadly sins". Only by doing so can our Adam hope to "escape a horrific afterlife", and, to complicate matters further still, players are forced to level down one stat prior to each fight as a form of sacrifice.

First, here's some of that in moving picture form:

And here's publisher Another Indie with more on the specifics:

"Adam is [on] a quest to save his soul, [and] will face eight abhorrent bosses, the first seven each based on one of the deadly sins. Before each clash, Adam must make a sacrifice to enter combat and choose a stat to level down. Each fight will be tougher than the last and force players to carefully choose their actions in battle, aided by a variety of unlockable weapons.

"The action is framed by a desolate afterlife in which Adam seeks to restore his memories and atone for his sins. How he interacts with each boss will ultimately decide his fate in one of multiple endings."

With that, Another Indie's director of developer relations Iain Garner reckons protagonist Adam not only struggles with his own modest physical prowess but also his "internal need" for atonement.

Due on PC at some point in the first half of next year, Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption will be playable for the first time at next month's Gamescom. I'll be there in person and will report back on how it plays and, hopefully, with a little more on what it's all about.