Infamously simulation-heavy colony builder Dwarf Fortress is getting a Myth and Magic update that, at the possible risk of being maybe a touch hyperbolic, threatens to make all other fantasy game spellcraft look like a sleepy bout of Got Your Nose. It's summarised by Bay12 co-founder Tarn Adams as a set of procedural systems "that go beyond combining spell effects... straight to the fundamental cosmological makeup of the universe", allowing for "magical situations that you cannot get any other way."
There was a whole lot of news rushing out of The Division 2 during this year’s Gamescom, as Ubisoft Massive used the convention to make several major announcements — and one of those announcements is arguably a completely unexpected one. We’ll start with the expected one, which is the promised early details about the shooter’s next DLC: Called […]
The top of this month saw Elite Dangerous take the wraps off of a new vehicle known as the Rhino, a six-wheeled mining buggy that would also be bringing some new surface mining gameplay to the multiplayer sandbox, but that was about all we had to go on. A little more information has been shared by Frontier […]
From what I saw in the State of Decay 3 preview at Gamescom this week, the long-awaited game might just have hit that perfect sweet spot--sating long-time fans' need for novelty and innovation while giving newcomers something immediately approachable to sink their teeth into.
I haven't played State of Decay 1 or 2, and so new am I to the genre that I can't think of a single zombie survival-horror game I have played. Heading into the preview, I was nervous. Multiplayer, combat-focused games can be pretty scary unless you're already a fan--they often punish casual players or make you feel like you're letting your teammates down because you're not all able to do the same thing. Especially in a game like State of Decay 3, where the very fate of humanity seems to rest on you and your pals' shoulders, I didn't really want that kind of pressure.
But State of Decay 3 opened up to me the minute I started playing. The characters are explained as being procedurally assembled from a seemingly infinite number of combinations of abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and traits. Some of them are, for example, unusually bold, which gives them more health and stamina, but also means they're quite loud and prone to attracting trouble. Some of them are keen-eyed sharpshooters but like to take long showers, so they drain the water supply. As far as can be simulated, these are people, not generic human pawns. Each of them brings their own past, present, and future into your settlement. You're not pointing and shooting at a zombie purely because they're the Big Bad; you're doing it because you need each and every one of these people to survive.
But it isn't just the people, as each of the unique map locations has potential to be secured for your growing (or, potentially, shrinking) gang of survivors, giving you a clear focus and a motivation to keep driving back the zombie threat as far as you can. They each have their own pre-set facility combined with a few slots for your own picks. You have to answer to the needs of your communities, whether that be through a better water supply, more ammo, or somewhere to grow food. But you can't just arrive and put your feet up--you have to put your life on the line every time you need somewhere new to stay.
State of Decay 3
The zombie threat moves out from dynamic nodes: newly introduced Plague Nests that rot people and places from the inside. These Nests send out more zombies in packs, fighting for and securing locations, and expanding their dominion over time. The Plague Hearts are the key to driving them back, as destroying one clears the settlement. But once the battle is won, you still need to make sure you have the right mix of resources, power, and people to take over. It seems like a very valid end state to simply lose morale and everyone gives up--going out not with a bang, but with a whimper. The whole game places an emphasis on community, which makes it hard not to become deeply invested, even when it's not the typical genre of game you'd play.
That all of this being experienced with friends was a relief. Although State of Decay 3 can be played solo, the multiplayer aspect means for players like me--who are unlikely to land a headshot but love to tinker with crafting supplies, or can make a speedy getaway in a car through hordes of undead--can genuinely engage with the thrilling fantasy of it all.
There were times during the preview where my fellow players were looting shops quite happily, while I was prowling the exterior and picking off any lone, shambling enemy that happened across my line of sight. Every now and then though, they'd catch a proper whiff of me, and I quickly got overwhelmed. At the sound of the ensuing panicked noises I was making, the others quickly ran out and cleared the way at a distance while I landed a few clumsy melee attacks just to feel useful. Realistically, I'd played the part of a child told to go and "keep watch" while the older kids played. But it felt incredible nonetheless.
State of Decay 3
It all just feels a little deeper than I'd expected from what I'd seen as a fairly straightforward genre. You're not just watching enemies encroach on your position, but also seeing different strategies across the map based on randomized styles and intelligence levels: Some are an immediate danger due to close by and approaching your settlements, and some more lazily wind their way toward you, picking up nearby locations on the way. There's a consideration of the people involved, crafting complete characters, even though they're procedurally created. You start to understand their motivations and weaknesses, and you can even slowly change their traits to be a little more--though not entirely--positive, if you work hard enough.
We had to think carefully about which character completed which tasks. The goal was to destroy a nearby Plague Nest, but some characters were simply a poor fit for the job. Either through their traits or weaknesses, some folks had to be left home to tend to what we'd already made, while those with combat readiness were drafted out.
The chosen characters stormed in, one drawing out enemies with sound and fire and chaos, and the other providing support fire. Eventually a Plague Heart was spotted--a huge pulsating mass spewing miasma and electric shock waves through the area. Shooting at it only made the enemies more angry, so the cover fire had to increase. It was chaos--someone was on fire, someone took a bite to the neck, and someone ran out of stamina and had to creep around the outside for a while to catch their breath. The waves of zombies, increasing in intensity as the Heart was damaged, gave the location a gauntlet feel. One by one, we found weak points and then eventually destroyed the Heart itself. As it exploded, it took with it every zombie in the vicinity. With enough power and influence, we could claim the settlement, which came with a built-in Ammo Press, a huge boon to the community.
But we didn't have to do any of it that way. It's a completely open world: a sandbox for your creative, destructive, lethal, or community-minded fantasies to play out. You don't have to play nice--you can betray your people if you want to. You can use a boombox to lure a zombie crowd then douse them in gasoline and set them alight. You can claim settlements and theme them around preexisting production types, or just keep everything chaotic and fill the facility slots with random resources to fit a whim. It truly feels like the world we know is done, and it's your turn to build something fresh. No two moments will ever look the same, which means the narrative you create keeps expanding. What I wanted was a game that was more than just running and shooting and getting bitten, and that's what I got with State of Decay 3.
As the developers said themselves, "You are not a superhero: You're just a survivor." You can run away, or you can call for help. If something isn't to your strength, you can leave that task up to someone else. As in real life, you won't get too far without people of all abilities and talents chipping in. If you don't have anyone who knows how to grow food, you need to make it a priority to find someone, even if it's at the expense of a gifted fighter.
If you're an expert at (or just really, really enthusiastic about) these games, you might well be able to do all things perfectly yourself, deftly switching between characters, but for those of us just dipping our toe in the water, I think State of Decay 3's community-minded co-op mode is going to be a great place to start.
Developer Eclipse Glow Games has released a brand-new trailer for Tides of Annihilation. The title’s third trailer this week focuses a bit more on the story and gives us a glimpse at some of the protagonist’s allies. We also get some details about how the world of Avalon and modern London can exist side-by-side. That’s not to say that there’s no gameplay, however. Check it out below.
As the narrator in this new trailer explains, Gwendolyn will have access to a variety of Knights that define the character’s combat style. She can equip two of these Knights at any moment, each offering their own benefits. The Gamescom demo, for instance, gives her a melee-focused one and a ranged one. Some Knights can even offer crowd-control options, like freezing enemies in time. One showcased in the trailer is even able to pull off heavy charged attacks that can deal massive amounts of damage.
Interestingly, the Knights even have utility outside of combat, with the narrator noting that players can access areas that were previously unreachable if she has the right Knight equipped. One, for example, can set up a zipline that allows Gwendolyn to reach an entirely new place.
At the start of the story, Gwendolyn gets separated from her sister and thrown into this massive invasion. Rather than wanting to save the world, she is more focused on her own survival as well as the whereabouts of her sister. At a certain point, Gwen meets Gwynevere, who lets her know that she has the power of Arthur, giving her the ability to summon and command Knights.
Tides of Annihilation is being developed for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. For more, check out its RTX trailer.
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