Generation Zero is an upcoming open-world co-op shooter from Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios. The game isn’t set to launch until sometime next year, and yet Avalanche has been doing a pretty decent job of hyping it up thanks to the recent announcement that it will be getting a worldwide physical release, and the even more recent debut of an in-depth gameplay trailer. However, the folks over at PC Gamer recently got to try a hands-on demo for Generation Zero, and they came away somewhat disappointed by the demo’s scope but also excited for the final game’s potential.
Thanks to the small slice of hands-on gameplay that PC Gamer got to experience, we now know a bit more about Generation Zero and how it will attempt to leave its own mark on the shooter genre. Below is a list of notes and observations gleaned from PC Gamer’s report, but keep in mind that all the new details listed are subject to change between now and Generation Zero’s launch.
- Going by the demo, Generation Zero will begin with the player’s character exploring the Swedish archipelago by boat alongside a few friends (it’s not clear whether these friends are NPC’s or fellow players) before their boat is attacked by the invading machines and they end up stranded on the shores of the Swedish countryside.
- Generation Zero’s mech enemies are referred to by the developers as “tanks,” and there will be at least four different types of tanks players can encounter (Avalanche didn’t provide a finalized total number of different tanks types).
- While Generation Zero is a co-op game, players will spend much of their time ransacking abandoned houses and empty cars for supplies, not unlike what they’d be doing in a more competitive survival/battle royale game.
- The different weapons that players will be able to find and wield include pistols, shotguns, automatic weapons, and even rocket launchers. Players will also be able to craft gadgets such as flares and EMP grenades.
- During the demo, the PC Gamer player apparently couldn’t perform any sort of melee attack, though that could just be because Avalanche hadn’t yet implemented one or had forgotten to enable it for the demo.
- Any damage a player inflicts to a tank is permanent even if the tank escapes the encounter, but Avalanche also warns that there won’t be a finite number of tanks in the world.
- Generation Zero will cost $35 at launch, suggesting it will have a slightly smaller scale than most other triple-A shooter games.
- Avalanche plans to host a beta before the full launch, though it’s not yet clear whether it will be an open or closed beta.
As of this writing, Avalanche plans to launch Generation Zero in full sometime in 2019. Along with PC, Generation Zero will also be coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.