When I first heard that I’d be sitting in on a behind-the-scenes look at a game developed by the Swedish game studio, Avalanche Studios, the team behind the Just Cause games and Mad Max, I thought I would be sitting in on a demo of Just Cause 4, or another equally explosive and action-packed game. Instead, what I witnessed was much darker and a lot more thrilling.
Right from the get go the team at Avalanche Studios gave us an introduction to their upcoming ID@Xbox title, Generation Zero, a game that is essentially an open world, action video game set in the 1980s, back when neon colours were huge, the mullet was in and European bands were all the rage.
Generation Zero is a multiplayer co-op survival game set at a time when mankind is at war with machine creatures. Think Horizon Zero Dawn meets a zombie survival game but at an indie game level.
Considering that it is considered to be an indie title, the game looked exceptionally good with visuals that were crisp, clear and quite similar to that of AAA games. The environment truly captured the cold, winter feel of Scandinavia, making the concept of survival all the more realistic. Not only that but the 1980s look and feel were captured really well. While watching one of the developers play the game, I instantly had a Stranger Things / Netflix TV show kind of feel, which drew me in.
The gameplay was in a style I enjoyed. From the demonstration, the game looked beginner friendly, with levels of progression built in to allow for a more challenging experience. This is evident in the type of machine creatures that players have to take on. The initial wave of creatures are somewhat tame and require a few shots to their ‘weak points’ to destroy but as the game progresses, these creatures become larger and more complicated.
What I really enjoyed was the fact that players seemed to be able to take a reasonable amount of time to strategize and plan out their attacks, something that will be appealing to strategy enthusiasts.
Whilst not much can be shared at this stage apart from what was shown off at the behind-the-scenes session, Generation Zero looks to be an ID@Xbox title that might just be the next big hit. I know I certainly will be picking this game up!
Generation Zero is currently still in development but is set to release sometime in 2019.