I keep forgetting Dark Ages is basically here. Mentally I must have filed that away under ‘cool game long ways out’.
Helldivers model
Team based extraction shooter set on Tau Ceti IV, scavenge remains of a lost colony for glory and fortuneLaunch: Coming to PS5, Xbox and PC on September 23Will be a "premium" product, meaning not F2P"Weapons and movement feels crisp, fluid, and incredibly satisfying in that rarified way that few studios can achieve"3 maps, 6 runner classes at launch, more to follow post-launchPlans to support the game with new maps, weapons, characters, and more as it goes onRanked play, end game challenges, seasonal storytelling, secrets to discover, community events all in Season One with more content comingYou play as a "runner", cybernetic mercenary who's given up their human form for a bio-synthetic shell with unique abilities and statsRunner Types: "Locus" is a soldier class for pushing forward, can use a shield, "Void" is stealth, sneak by undetected, use smoke grenades, "Blackbird" is reconnaissance based, find players, positioning, and moreUncover secrets hidden in the wake of the original Marathon trilogy's events - how and where this overlaps or clashes with the original games "is a story that will unfold over time"Objective is to get in, get as much loot as you can, and get out aliveIf you die, your gear and loot will be up for grabs. Survive and you can take your gear with you on future runs as you grow in power and fill your vaultFight in a crew of up to 3 players, various map sizes up to 18 playersPvP + PvE, battle other players, security forces, and "otherworldly threats"Contextual pings, shared objectives, down-but-not-out mechanicsEnvironments are filled with weapons, materials, items, resources, cores, keys, backpacks, secrets etc to findSelect your runner, strategically build your loadouts pre-matchFactions in the game can sponsor you and your loadoutYou have the freedom to opt out of crew fill and take all the glory for yourself as a solo runner"This is probably the best-looking, best-feeling extraction shooter ever made", not easy for newcomers to the genre, can be tough to get into, but one previewer was "reluctant to put Marathon down. This is a good sign – the best thing I can say after any preview is that I want more – but big questions remain"No two matches ever play out the same, dynamic events, variable weather, unpredictable players etcCustomization: Each Runner "brings their own flair", but serve as foundations to customize your playstyle - collect implants and equipment to augment your Runner, like stacking implants/upgrades to reduce heat build-up to allow you to keep running, jumping, sliding longerContracts: "Ingenious" incentives, finish contracts you accept for permanent upgrades to your stats, add precious items like grenades, shields, inventory-expanding backpacks, etc to your market. The bigger your market, the better your minimum loadout becomesContracts provide "valuable direction", bring welcome diversity and add a "precious hit of semi-permanent progression"Prestige Cores: Rare items that can "really push the boundaries" (ex: Glitch has an upgrade that turns double jump into triple jump for more manueverability)Another rare item is a backpack that turns you invisible while interacting with containers (very useful when everyone on the map is hunting you)Each match "feels like the most important one ever", high stakes, "surprisingly challenging AI enemies" that were "much, much better at surrounding and overwhelming players than the vast majority of AI enemies found in other games"Having a balanced crew helps in exploring the "dark and forgotten places" in maps - filled with deadly creatures like a species of giant ticks who swarm you franticallyBattles can become frantic as you encounter other crews, stalk them across the map, encounter AI enemies to fend off when others come to claim your loot (one preview battle turned into a 9 player free-for-all)Downside could be the reward system where skilled players enter fresh matches with high level gear that outmatches less skilled players, though Bungie says it has gone out of its way to try and make it where a poorly equipped squad can still stand a chance if they play wellEven if you die, you can can still get upgrades, improve your reputation with factions, advance in perk trees, etc by completing various quests, looting chests, or fulfilling specific objectives which unlock new bits of story and can grant perks like buying slightly better gear from vendors"The world Bungie has built is every bit as beautiful as it is creepy and dystopian, and there are moments where they satisfyingly hint at the events of the Marathon trilogy from the ‘90s", though "what little I saw did only slightly more than pay lip service to the world"Uses the seasonal reset model like in Diablo 4, where players are stripped of their loot and progress at the end of each season to mix things up with new content and new metaGame is designed to get you killed, Bungie expects average exfiltration rates to be comfortably below 50%"You will lose a lot, and losing hurts a lot[...]Extracts are snapshots of this unpredictability. That white-knuckle countdown may become a gut-punch defeat, an unforgettable clutch, a desperate last-second dive into the portal as your downed allies watch in envy and horror (couldn't be me), or an unnerving anticlimax. It's not always a pleasant one, but it is a strong emotional hook"Some previewers worried about variety, weren't impressed with the objectives in the alpha, like hunting computer monitors on the map, sprinting over, marking dropships, sprinting over, and repeating, though random events help spice things upNot a 20-map game says Bungie, map design "does have that sticky battle royale quality of generating memories", though still worried 3-4 medium sized maps might not be enoughBungie's "verbiage" on updates sounds like possibly 1 new map a year + refreshing existing ones in between, which could work in its favor pushing players to really learn maps, but will they hold up over hundreds of hours?Fights are decided by gun skill, clever ability use, map awareness, how strong your shield is, how many healing supplies you have, etcExample: If you have one bar of shield and enemy has four, you'll lose 1v1, but change it up with powerful grenades, status effects like toxic or overheat, backpacks are "transformative", etc
Not full price. Probably 40 dollars like Concord and Helldivers 2 if I were to guess.
Love-hate subgenre, extraction shooters in general, and the style is earning both favorable comparisons to Kojima (as far as cinematics) as well as disfavorable in it being overly 'indulgent' (like maps/setting, chars) – all of which sure to divide audiences. The Concord 2 jab, though, is from three things, I think.
As far as Extraction shooters I only know of Tarkov which is PC only and not on Steam. Also Hunt Showdown which is nothing like this but seems to have been doing well enough since it's still around and getting updates consistently.
A lot of people want it to fail so they only make single player games. I think that’s stupid. Sony bought Bungie to make these types of games and they’re pretty good at it from what I’ve heard. I think my biggest pet peeve with gamers is acting like every single game ever made has to be for them. If people don’t like this genre then just shut up and move along, plenty of others to play. I think the best approach is to keep an open mind and see what it’s like for yourself when they have a beta. Until then not really worth listening to people who haven’t even touched it.
