PREVIEW : Deadside (PC)
It’s time to put deadside an early access game under the magnifying glass. The game is developed and published by Bad pixel and is only available on Pc. In the times of new generation consoles, it’s a bold move from the developers to publish the game on just one platform. Deadside is a multiplayer shooter game that has survival elements.
The game is based on the idea of a post-apocalyptic era which surprisingly has no zombies but the worries do not end here, instead of zombies you have to worry about the groups of roaming bandits. It’s a nice change of pace when it comes to post-apocalyptic games as it’s always the zombies or mutated something to worry about and it’s working pretty well. The map of the game is quite big to exact its 225 square kilometres but as the game is in early access the map is limited to a mere 25 square kilometres. In the early access, the server of the game is limiting the players to 50 which I think is more as the map size is small in early access. Due to this the experience of the game is becoming unnecessarily hard but you will enjoy this if you are a fan of hardcore PVP combat. Though according to me for the current map size the 25-30 is the ideal number of players for such a small map. The map of the game is incredibly well designed, you can spend hours exploring the map not get bored. The developers have done well in placing the villages, fields, and cites all of them are not too far away from each other so you will not find yourself roaming around in empty fields without any motive or anything. Most of the places where you can find lots are marked on your map but there are small structures where you can find a lot of stuff which are not marked on the map and this helps to make this digital world feel a little more alive. The game has roads that have wrecked vehicles placed randomly and these vehicles have loots, also you find yourself stand beside a quiet pond for some peace before you head into fast and aggressive combat, which is a nice touch.
The developers have done well in creating ambient sounds especially the sounds of animals, there are moments when you will hear the sound of a frog or cricket or something while roaming around in the fields. And what’s more interesting is that when the game shifts into night mode the ambient sounds change completely and this helps you feel more connected to the game.
The game defines itself as a hardcore multiplayer shooting game and after playing this game I have to say it’s not the case. The weapons that you will be using specially gunplay feels very realistic, the weapons don’t stay still in your hand and move a lot which is good. What’s more realistic is depending on what type of weapon your opponent is using you will die in 2 or 3 shots and this is nice, it’s not like other games that you are being constantly shot, and even after 10 or 15 shots you don’t die. Apart from all this what drives the game away from realism are the features that are supporting the combat. Like you will find a lot of loot in the first few building you enter, also if you die in the game the location of your player’s body gets marked on the map with a red skull, and after respawning it’s a matter of minutes for the players to reach their last death location to retrieve the gears. This makes the game lose its touch and falls far away from being realistic. All of this is due to the small map size due to the game being in early access. Also, there is no stamina bar so you can sprint all you want without your player getting tired so you can sprint all you want and reach the location where you died before the other player has finished looting the area completely. Another thing that didn’t make any sense according to me was respawn is supposed to be random but in this game, you can exchange your dog tag with the AI that you have killed and get spawned in the safe zone. This kills the experience of the game. The weapons are great and feel good in using but the combat system that the game currently has is really killing the gameplay and because of this game is far away from being called hardcore.
Fighting against AI in the game is not very tough but it’s hard. And developers have done well to make sure players enjoy PBE combat. The base building segment of the game is quite easy and simple and that’s how it should be. It will take some time to build a decent base but a small one-room shack or something can be built pretty easily. However, the base is immune from any damages but I think developers should add this but that’s what early access is for.
To sum up, the game has a low potential for players who like hardcore and challenging combat. But as the game is I early access it has a long way to go. The game is supposed to stay in early access for 18 months and is currently priced at Rs. 530 and the price will go up in the future. I will recommend this game but I’ll suggest you buy this game after a few months and after developers have made some more additions to the game. Overall the game is good and can be amazing in the future.
REVIEW : Journey of the Broken Circle (PC)
