Exobornehas easily changed, or should I say, rectified my stance on that after I watched a presentation from developers at this year’s Gamescom. It goes without saying that, yes, as is the nature of all multiplayer games, there are going to be competitive players that may make you feel a tad underskilled at times but what’s clear to me aboutExoborneis that its systems are accessible enough to welcome in extraction shooter newcomers whilst the game simultaneously boasts a unique and unpredictable ecosystem mechanic that in what is an increasingly competitive space, givesExobornethe one-up on those competitors.
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Take a look atExobornein action below.
When you whittle it down to the basics,Exoborneticks all of the boxes of the extraction shooter genre. In a team of three, it’s your job to eliminate your opponents, scavenge for supplies and eventually, reach an extraction point. Of course, that makes it all sound rather simple but as anyone who’s ever played an extraction shooter will tell you, it rarely is. For starters, there’s just a few extraction points on the map so plenty of foes will be vying to nab the opportunity from you. Even if you think you’re in the relative safety of an extraction ship, developers warned us that you’re not safe until the doors have totally shut.
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One such example is that all in-game vehicles seat three players so you never have to leave anyone behind. Another newcomer friendly feature is the fact that any alive characters can revive those who have fallen. That means that if you are a newbie, you don’t have to worry about the boredom that comes with sitting out a round because you perish straight away. The flipside of that is that when you’re the aggressor, you’ll want to eliminate an entire team if you want to ensure that they’re well and truly taken out of the picture. Additionally, even if you die as a beginner, you’ll still achieve some kind of reward. Not all is lost upon death. I can’t stress enough how much developers emphasised how they created such features to help all abilities and skill sets feel a level of achievement and progression, and it’s one of the reasons whyExobornetotally won me over.
There are three types of builds you can play as, each of their exo rigs have different benefits. Vipers are your medium builds, somewhat all-rounders that are good as medics and scouts. Kestrel is the light build that offers quick, agile attacks, while Kodiak players will assume the role of the heavy, boasting slower but more powerful guns and armour. Picking a certain build doesn’t lock you into any major specifics though. It determines your strengths and weaknesses and perhaps how you should structure your approach, but it’s totally up to you how you play.
Credit / Level Infinite
Of course, the exo rigs grant abilities ordinary human soldiers would not possess. There’s no fall damage in the game as your suit is equipped with a glider and from what I saw in the presentation, traversal is incredibly fluid and really caught my eye. You have an enhanced sprint, a grappling hook … you can pretty much get anywhere and everywhere.
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Already, I think you’ll agree thatExoborneis painting a pretty great picture and I’ve yet to touch on what I found to be its most intriguing mechanic. The landscape you’ll find yourself in inExoborneis incredibly volatile, the weather and ecosystem changing regularly. Situated across the map are several warning towers, tracking the weather. If you hear a droning siren sounding out, that’s your warning that everything is about to change - and I don’t just mean that a sunny day might turn into one where the heavens open.
The final mechanism that was showcased to me involved a countdown timer positioned in the corner of your screen, as if players didn’t already have enough to contend with. Essentially, that’s how long you have left to safely extract. Completing tasks and quests will extend your countdown but it can’t be extended forever. If the timer reaches zero, don’t worry, it’s not instant death but it’s not far off. Instead, your team’s location will be revealed to the entire map so don’t let the countdown run too low.
Credit / Level Infinite
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Exoborne remains without a release window but will launch on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
Topics:Xbox,PlayStation,PC,Preview
