Days Gone

Perhaps the most recent example on this list is Days Gone. First revealed at E3 2016, its main calling card was the sizable hordes of undead on-screen that players could battle. It was originally slated to release in 2018 but faced a number of delays before finally launching in April 2019. On Metacritic, it averaged a 71 out of 109 reviews from critics. Some gameplay and world building aspects were praised but critics were ultimately harsh on the game for its mission design, writing, performance and myriad of bugs. While not an outright terrible review average, it was a shock to PS4 players, especially with how revered Sony’s exclusive first-party offerings had become.

After its launch, however, Days Gone attained a relatively strong following with players becoming attached to the characters and the overall world design. Bend Studio would also update the game frequently, adding new challenges, difficulty modes and bug fixes. It eventually became clear that Days Gone wouldn’t be getting a sequel or even a major expansion. Earlier this year, Jason Schreier spoke to sources that revealed a sequel proposal being rejected due to the first game’s mixed critical response and long development period. Nevertheless, a PC version arrived in May and fans have started a petition for a sequel. Bend Studio is currently working on a new IP built on “the deep open-world systems that they have developed with Days Gone” as per PlayStation Studios head Herman Hulst so at the very least, its DNA carries over in some ways.

Tripwire Interactive’s upcoming zombie based first person shooter is due for a launch for the PlayStation 4 sometime later this year. GamingBolt recently spoke with Alan Wilson who is the VP of Tripwire Interactive to check out how the PS4 version is shaping up.

Given that Killing Floor 2 is being developed with only one GPU specification, how did this helped the development team in optimization and performance?  “Well, having only one target does make things much simpler. We only have to test on one machine. On the PC, we build multiple min-spec machines and test on them. And on mid-range machines, with all flavors of CPU and GPU mixes. Makes testing MUCH more complex!,” Wilson said to GamingBolt.

“The base issue was getting Unreal  Engine 3 running on the platform. A lot of the base work had been done before, that we could pick up – but we’ve had to do a lot of engine-level work to get it all functioning. Once we get past all of that, its “just” shifting from CP with mouse and keyboard, to a console with controller – and all the design changes that drives for the new platform.”

Killing Floor 2 is shaping up to be a solid entry. We recently went hands on with the game. You can read our full impressions here.

I was able to play an online matchmaking version of the game, that doesn’t have any real story interspersed. I jumped into the mode and was immediately put into the middle of a level with other players who were all looking to kill as many Zeds as possible. It appears as though there may be some other modes that will put into Killing Floor 2 when the game goes live and one of those modes is an offline single player. Because I wasn’t able to actually check this mode out, it’s hard to know exactly what it might bring, but it’s possible a story mode is going to be inserted there.

"Considering how crazy the action can get at times, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they go down fast and hard the first couple of times they play, especially if they are located near the entrance points for the Zeds."

What I was able to see was a game that certainly wasn’t all that different from the original Killing Floor. Of course, the designers of the game were very forthcoming in the fact that they weren’t offering something that different. What this game has that the original lacked was a more detailed and gruesome ways you can take care of your enemies. If you put one of these monsters in your crosshairs, the game will slow down so that you can see as you blow off their head or a limb.

Before each wave of Zeds comes on the attack there is a period of time when players can run to the a special portal where they can turn in their points and money to buy new weapons, all the better to kill monsters with. Obviously the more waves you play and the more zombies you take down, the better weapons you can grab while looking to suit up. If there is one place where the game seems to fall a little flat, it’s that the weapons that are offered don’t seem all that special. I’d love to see some guns that just take out an enemy in one shot or stand out among other FPS games. Perhaps this is something that’s coming in the finished product of Killing Floor 2 but it isn’t here just yet.

What is here is the ability to help your teammates in a way that makes actually having teammates worthwhile. The game in this regard kind of reminded me of something like Left 4 Dead in that you can go off on your own and fight whatever Zeds you can find. The better option is going to be to stay within eyesight of the other players in the game, so that if you go down, they can come in and help you heal.

Considering how crazy the action can get at times, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they go down fast and hard the first couple of times they play, especially if they are located near the entrance points for the Zeds. There were a couple of times I tried to withdraw, after realizing I was way too close to the wave as it moved in. The nice thing about the AI of Killing Floor 2, is the Zeds actually seemed to see me and decide I was who they wanted to go after first. Once I got swarmed, there wasn’t much I could do except shoot as much as possible and hope a teammate was going to swoop in at some point.

"The build that I managed to play through was fun enough, and shooting the Zeds was entertaining enough."

One of the funniest parts of Killing Floor 2 is selecting who you are going to play a. There are a number of different characters to choose from; you can also change a little detail here or a little detail there to make your character stand out. There are still going to be some times when players find that everyone on their team is the same guy wearing the same gas mask, but at least there’s enough editing available that someone will be wearing a regular old gas mask and another will be wearing a mask that has the colors and design of a country’s flag.

All in all, the sneak peek I got of Killing Floor 2 didn’t allow me a long lingering look at what the game might be when it’s finished. At least I hope it didn’t because that would mean there isn’t a lot of there. The build that I managed to play through was fun enough, and shooting the Zeds was entertaining enough. The game has some serious replay ability, but there was also enough repetitive aspects that make me put down the controller and not pick up for quite a while. Perhaps that’s where the offline single player mode could come in handy. If there is even the semblance of a story mode there, it might be enough to intersperse with with the online multiplayer to make the game more attractive.

Killing Floor 2 is an upcoming first person shooter that can be played alone or cooperatively with up to six players. Players will fight against waves of  zombie like specimens, known as Zeds. The game is currently set for a launch on PC and PlayStation 4. GamingBolt recently got the chance to speak to Alan Wilson who is the VP of Tripwire Interactive, the developers behind the game.

Alan confirmed that they are targeting 1080p and 60 frames per second on the PS4 version but he is not sure whether they will be able to achieve it. “Its a TARGET. Will we achieve it? Don’t know – but we’ve already got the game running on a pretty broad spectrum of hardware on the PC,” he said.

He also revealed that a Xbox One version will probably come along sometime in the future. “Oh, it most likely will. Just that Sony were far easier to work with, had been on the ball for a long time, helping us along. And Microsoft didn’t. So it goes to PS4 first (and exclusively).” He termed the possibility of an Xbox One version as highly probable.

So it seems that Killing Floor 2 will will be a timed console exclusive for the PS4 and we will see a Xbox One version sometime in the future.

Stay tuned for our full interview with Alan Wilson in the coming days.

Like their other works before this, Killing Floor 2, which is running on a modified build of Unreal Engine 3, is also going to be published by Tripware Interactive and it is expected to launch in March of 2015 when it is released on PC, the Steam OS and PlayStation 4.

• 1. Development
• 2. Story
• 3. Gameplay
• 4. Characters

Development

Following the release of their popular, well reviewed and multi award winning first person shooter, Red Orchestra 2 in 2011, Tripwire Interactive has been focusing heavily on developing the squeal to their 2009 hit game, Killing Floor.

Bill Munk, one of Tripwire Interactive founders as well as being the games creative director and senior animator has said that “Red Orchestra is realism. Killing floor is coolism”. The developers are working on making the game as gory as they can by making each and every wound inflicted upon your enemies unique and gruesome. He goes on to say, “Killing Floor is a simple game,” says Munk. “You have weapons. You see something that looks messed up. And you kill it. You get money for doing it and you buy better weapons. Rinse and repeat. The more enjoyable that small little loop is, the more successful the game is.”

To this end, Tripwire are developing a system dedicated to making the game as visceral as possible. The “gore system” is called MEAT, which stands for the “Massive Evisceration And Trauma” system. This is made all the more impressive when you consider that each enemy has 95 death animations that are divided into specific bodily kill zones, the head, neck, chest, stomach and appendages.

While details remain sparse, Munk has said that there is “mocap for everything”. This includes motion captured weapons, movements and even melee combat for both first and third person views.

Unlike Killing Floor, which was first developed and released as a mod for Unreal Tournament 2004, Killing Floor 2 is a game that has been built and developed from the ground up. John Gibson, president and co-founder of Tripwire has said, “[Killing Floor 2] is the first time we’ve been able to develop a game from start to finish with what I would call a reasonable size staff and a reasonable size budget.”

Whilst Killing Floor’s staff was known to be lower, Killing Floor 2’s development team is now comprised of 50 staff members and their readying the game for Steam Early Access.

Story

Killing Floor 2 takes place in Europe (Paris, France is a confirmed locale) during a time when a viral outbreak has began to spread and carries with it an “unstoppable momentum”. The player is dropped into this world where society has fallen into chaos, government has dissolved and armed forces are missing.

Gameplay

The game is played predominantly from a first person perspective, but with the game being motion captured for both a first and third person view it’s possible that the player can swap between the two.

The game is largely a shooter but contains elements of melee combat, both of which are used to combat the oncoming hordes of “zeds”. Infected humans and creatures that will attack you relentlessly.

Some Zeds are more “class” based, similar to the way Left 4 Dead enemies are. An example of this would be the “bloat” and the “fleshpound” that reflect Left 4 Dead’s “boomers” and “tanks” respectively.

Weapons all have perks and upgrades that can be applied which will aid you in your fight for survival against the Zeds, the weapons confirmed thus far are pistols, rifles and shotguns.

Characters

At this time, a character roster hasn’t been published.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

Steam for Mac has started well with a few releases of major games, however prepare yourself for Killing Floor and Red Orchestra to also be ported to the Mac!

Tripwire’s president John Gibson confirmed that both Red Orchestra and Killing Floor would indeed be released for the Mac. As well as the games Mac users will have use of all of the DLC packages available for both titles via Steam, Achievements and cross-platform multiplayer with the PC market, however a release date has not yet been confirmed.

In the story department, Killing Floor isn’t exactly deep. The zombies you are facing aren’t actually zombies at all but specimens. The game takes place in England where a biotech corporation called Horzine has produced specimens maybe intentionally, maybe not. These are the “zombies” that you will be facing.

Arguably the most important aspect of a game is the gameplay; Killing Floor delivers and then some in that department. Much like Left 4 Dead, Killing Floor is primarily a cooperative multiplayer first person shooter in which players must survive against relentless assaults of specimens. However in Killing Floor the ante has been upped to six players (and on some custom servers up to 32) to try and take out the threat. While playing with random people can be fun, getting a group together with five of your friends is extremely rewarding during play itself. While Killing Floor takes some cues from Left 4 Dead, it also takes a couple from Counter-Strike as well which will be explained a little bit later.

The game is set up so on each of the 13 maps (those are the official ones made by Tripwire) there are 10 waves of specimens which the players must survive. However when a team beats the tenth wave there is still one left which will show up as wave 11 out of 10. This is the wave of The Patriarch . . . if it is your first time facing him I am sorry. Anyway in between waves the player can go to a trader where guns, body armor, grenades, and melee weapons may be purchased with money received from killing specimens and surviving the wave (which is where the Counter-Strike inspiration is drawn from). The gunplay is very satisfying and watching specimens walk around confused because they’re head was just blown off is just flat out funny.

The specimens themselves are varied and provide challenges each in their own way. Another way that the player can combat the threat is with perks, however these perks aren’t the typical ones that are tied to specific weapons and skills. Before each match a player picks one of seven perks to choose from. When playing as a specific perk, all it affects are bonuses that each perk earns as you rank it up. The leveling up of each perk is somewhat unique in which you rank up specific perks as you meet requirements in them. For example I could be playing as the Sharpshooter perk which focuses on headshots but if I toss a grenade and blow some guys up, I will level up my Demolitions perk. The system is fluid and works very well.

There are many zombies who want nothing more than to annihilate you. Better get them before they get you.

In the graphics department, Killing Floor doesn’t look the best. It is not a bad looking game but it is not up to par with some of the better looking games on the PC. The designs for the characters are enemies are varied and interesting as well which makes up for some of the lack of polish. The maps are well realized and look good as well.

The music in Killing Floor is there primarily for ambience but is completely forgettable when all is said and done. Characters will sometimes have little one liners in kind of British accents which can be entertaining. Then there is the trader who is always making innuendo about how she likes “the big guns” or asking the player to “come and get me”. It can be kind of awkward and unnecessary but doesn’t detract from the game at all.

Killing Floor is one of the most fun cooperative multiplayer experiences out there. From the camaraderie of fighting off specimens with five of your friends to the constant upgrades there is something for all FPS fans out there. While it doesn’t have the best production values, it overcomes them with the rest of the package. Killing Floor is a great game that overcomes its few downfalls to become truly fun and entertaining. If you own a PC, you should own Killing Floor.

Disclosure: This game was reviewed after the “Heavy Metal” and “Level Up” downloadable content packs were automatically installed.

This game was reviewed on the PC.