Previews
Sci-Fi Shooter ‘The Anacrusis’ Takes Co-Op Horde Blasting to the Stars [Early Access Impressions]
With so many co-op monster shooters arriving in recent times, The Anacrusis already has a job in standing out, but it’s already laying some impressive groundwork for the future as it begins life in Early Access. Will it end up being a Big Bang or a Black Hole?
Unlike many of its genre pals, The Anacrusis shuns the Left 4 Dead infected Earth apocalypse route in favor of a funky retro sci-fi vibe where crazed aliens are the new horde and a space station (the titular Anacrusis) is the place to not be. A team of four beams aboard a starship stranded on the edge of space and finds all manner of nastiness has occurred. They must work together to fight their way through the Anacrusis and find out exactly why the local population is so vicious and in some cases, horribly mutated.
Developer Stray Bombay is another that features talent from that golden Left 4 Dead team (Back 4 Blood’s Turtle Rock being the other notable example), and as such is out to try and evolve the formula in its own way. It certainly gets off on a good foot with its setting amongst the stars and 60s-inspired decor. On the surface, it’s like Shatner-era Star Trek as a co-op horde shooter, and that alone baited my curiosity. Perhaps that is a little sterile for some, but it’s not like there aren’t multiple other options out there.
What matters most, of course, is how The Anacrusis plays. So far, every game that’s tried to emulate the Left 4 Dead formula has got something wrong in trying to get something right. Sometimes it’s the open storytelling, others it’s a poor (or lack of) implementation of the in-game ‘director’ to give players the appropriate shifts and changes in action with every playthrough, and the worst offenders tend to just be unsatisfying in action.
At present, I don’t think The Anacrusis necessarily ‘fails’ in any category on the old Left 4 Dead co-op shooter checklist, but it doesn’t exactly have many standout strengths. The A.I. Driver is certainly more present here than in other attempts though. The game is eager to understand how you and your squad are getting on and provide you with the requisite challenge. It promises a constantly adapting framework that takes more into consideration than just how good someone is at shooting a gun into account. While it needs a little fine-tuning, it delivers on that promise pretty well. After retrying the opening section multiple times, enemy encounters cropped up at very different times and situations, always keeping me on my toes.
Combat encounters are what you’d expect. A rushing, individually weak horde that occasionally bursts forth in large numbers alongside various ‘special’ beasts, and all that can stop them is your modest arsenal of space-age guns. While clearly still a work in progress, this combat is lacking a bit of weight and impact, which makes the over-the-top ragdolling of the enemies upon death feel quite jarring. It’s a fixable problem, but at present, it serves to undermine the intensity of some encounters.
The enemy design and movement also contribute to that. Not so much in the bigger enemies, which bring something a little spicier to the table. The Flasher, for instance, stands out not so much for its look, but for the blinding illumination it gives off when it arrives, as not only does it prevent the player from getting a good idea of what’s going on, it seems to send the grunts into a frenzy.
The grunts are the main offender in terms of poor look and movement. They come at the player in somewhat stiff and under animated fashion, and whether it’s intentional or not, they have all the menace of extras in rubber masks. I don’t think this is a huge problem, nor is it one I think will remain as it is now. It is something that adds to the very obvious feeling of a game still in development.
The foundations are there for The Anacrusis to grow into a really good co-op shooter. Even in its current fledgling state, there are several multi-stage missions to tackle, and an A.I. director that makes them at least a little bit fresh each playthrough. Unfortunately, while the setting is visually striking, there’s currently not much in the way of storytelling depth to the game world, which means beyond that director’s shenanigans, there’s little reason to revisit each stage too often.
Set expectations accordingly, and there’s plenty to appreciate in The Anacrusis, but you may want to wait for later in development to see the full vision.
The Anacrusis Early Access code for PC provided by the publisher.
The Anacrusis is out now in Early Access on Steam, and on Xbox Game Pass in Game Preview.
Previews
‘Evil Dead: The Game’ Looks to Be Raising the Bar for Asymmetrical Horror [Hands-On Preview]
The idea of synthesizing all of the moving pieces of the Evil Dead series into one cohesive package is one vicious, behemoth Deadite in itself. But on top of that, transcending the medium of film and television and adapting it into a gaming genre as volatile as asymmetrical multiplayer? One would naturally question how Saber Interactive could possibly appease every possible audience with EVIL DEAD: THE GAME, from veteran film fans to savvy gamers who want a unique and engaging experience. But as someone who fits into both camps who recently spent an hour with the developers kicking Deadite ass (and kicking ass as Deadites), I can happily report that Saber Interactive has pulled it off. EVIL DEAD: THE GAME is asymmetrical multiplayer at its best.
For those unfamiliar, asymmetrical multiplayer is a gameplay paradigm that heavily skews the power dynamic between two opposing teams. In the case of EVIL DEAD: THE GAME, four players select a character from the roster of Ash Williams and his cohorts from across the Evil Dead franchise (the “Survivor” team) to face one player who controls the all-powerful Kandarian Demon (the “Killer” team).
The survivor team is packed with familiar faces, including multiple iterations of Ash Williams as he appears throughout the Evil Dead series, meaning if you want to play Avengers multiverse style as a team of four different Ashes, the choice is yours. Just expect to hear a lot of quips from Bruce Campbell, who returned to reprise his role along with almost all of the original cast members from the films and television series. If you’re feeling a bit more sadistic, you can opt to play as The Kandarian Demon, which gives you the ability to control and summon Deadites to hinder and destroy the survivor team before they have a chance to use the Necronomicon to open a portal and excise the evil.
One important question I had when going into the preview was “How is this game going to stand out from its peers in the asymmetrical multiplayer space?” The genre is already well-known for hits like Behaviour Interactive’s Dead By Daylight, and is becoming further saturated with upcoming titles like Gun Media’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre game. Walking out of the preview, I felt that Saber Interactive knocked it out of the park in multiple ways, but my biggest takeaway was the sense of agency that the gameplay provides on both the survivor and killer sides.
For starters, on the survivor side, you’re given the option to select a character that fits into one of four categories: Leader, Warrior, Hunter, or Support. Each character in their respective class holds certain abilities that fit their archetype–for example, Cheryl in Support has an ability that heals the team as they converge around her. This system immediately establishes an element of complexity to the gameplay: how do you build synergy based on these classes? Do you want to be in the fray battling it out, or would you rather scout out objectives and rally the team to success? Additionally, you have the option of upgrading your abilities via cans of Pink-F scattered throughout the map, and have access to an expansive list of weapons to choose from shotguns to Medieval swords.
On the other hand, as the Kandarian Demon, you’re given free rein to zip across the map and collect Infernal Energy, which is used for all sorts of offensive options from summoning Deadites, to conjuring up traps, and my favorite, possession. Think of it like the survivors are in one big haunted house, and you’re the one with the master switch that controls everything that happens, from jump-scare traps to possessed trees and cars. Survivors themselves can even become possessed once their fear meters max out, giving you the option to take control of their characters to lay the smackdown on their team members, waste all of their ammo or separate them from the group. It’s as chaotic as it is a genuinely unique and a fresh take on the genre that’s never been seen before.
These factors of complexity and agency are so important because it counteracts an issue that often presents itself in asymmetrical horror: redundancy. Continuously playing matches can grow stagnant quickly if the gameplay isn’t complex and the same objectives need to be completed over and over again. The one hour I played of EVIL DEAD: THE GAME left me hungry to explore more. How does the gameplay differ between survivors? What are the other weapons like? How can I best optimize my team? And more importantly, I was excited to try out playing as the killer again. Like many other folks who play asymmetrical multiplayer, I tend to favor playing as the survivor over the killer, but playing as the Kandarian Demon was such a blast that I could see myself defecting to the dark side with EVIL DEAD.
EVIL DEAD: THE GAME truly offers something for everyone. Those who have stuck with the franchise since Sam Raimi’s first film in 1981 will love the homages and faithful adaptations, and those new to the series will love the blend of action, horror, and humor. People familiar with asymmetrical multiplayer can expect a fresh and innovative take on the genre, and if you’re new to asymmetrical multiplayer? I can confidently say EVIL DEAD: THE GAME will set the bar high for you.
EVIL DEAD: THE GAME will release on PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Series X/S, and PC via the Epic Games Store on May 13th, 2022.
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