Killing Floor 2
FORGET GUNS, WE’RE GOING TO NEED MOPS FOR THIS MESS. PS4, $69; PC, US$29.99 | PS4, PC | www.killingfloor2.com
THE AIM OF Tripwire’s wave-based zombie survival game is to decimate the undead. The longer you fight, the bloodier things get, and on Nvidia-powered PCs, there’s even an option to enable extra giblets. Killing Floor 2 will have you seeing red on the streets of Paris, in snowy outposts, abandoned farmhouses and Swiss manors. Gore is more than a visual flourish. Violently expelling intestines from torsos gives the game a gleeful sense of catharsis.
An outbreak originating from biochemical tech firm Horzine has spread beyond Europe. So-called ‘Zeds’ are ranked in three categories. First, small pale Zeds, such as Cysts, Crawlers and Stalkers, attack in death by a thousand cuts-style. Medium Zeds start filtering in next — charred gasmask-wearing Husks with flamethrowers, skeletal Sirens unleashing painful wails and obese Bloats slashing dual meat cleavers. Large Zeds demand the most caution. Muscular Fleshpounds rev up metal meat grinders and charge at you, while mutated surgeons called Scrakes attack with nerve-operated chainsaws mounted on their arms. All these enemies differ in form and function and combine to keep the action fresh.
‘Zed Time’ is a highlight. With every kill you make, there’s a small chance of slowing down time for a few seconds, allowing you to line up headshots. At the end of each four, six or ten-wave match, a powerfully deranged scientist called Hans Volter (gas grenades, jetpack) or cyborg behemoth the Patriarch (missile launcher, minigun) enters. Forget about playing alone — without teammates providing distractions, Zeds will flock to you.
Between rounds, you’ll visit pop-up stations and put the cash you’ve earned towards refilling ammo, boosting body armour and buying new tools of destruction. While you’re free to roam, defending a specific area is your best bet as you can use your soldering gun to fuse entrances shut.
There are 12 avatars, including a thawed-out German soldier, wisecracking DJ and an accountant cosplaying as a medieval knight. Where this falls down is in the huge time investment it takes developing your class. Perks unlock at intervals set too far apart. A universal rank would have given a greater sense of consistent progress.
This messy and slow class system is mostly saved by the sheer ferocity of Killing Floor 2’ s slaughterhouse. It’s just bloody good fun, and a vast improvement on the first.