GENER ATION ZERO

Machines on the rampage were big in the ’80s… and they’re making a comeback in 2019

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub THQ Nordic Dev Avalanche

Johnny 5 has turned evil; he’s out for blood and even Ally Sheedy can’t cute-talk him down from turning humankind into a gooey mess. At least, that’s what we see when Generation Zero, Avalanche’s ’80s-set open world shooter, loads up.

The reality is somewhat different – we guess the rights to Short Circuit are expensive – but the similarity between that film’s cute mechanical star and the things trying to turn us into kibbles is stark. These machines (“not robots,” stresses Avalanche’s Paul Keslin) have the same DIY aesthetic that made the ’80s movie so memorable.

“They look and feel like somebody could have cobbled them together from very ’80s parts. So you see circuitry and wires, and metal plating that you’d expect from that time frame. They feel very much grounded in the ’80s […] even if we didn’t have killer robots running around, it looks like it belongs rather than being a futuristic thing,” says Keslin with a smile.

While the setting and machines catch the eye, there’s more to Generation Zero than nostalgia for the decade of calculator watches and Knight Rider. Though self-published – “it’s really an opportunity to try things that we want to do, and tell our own unique stories,” – this is definitely an Avalanche game. The world is large and open, and running on the same Apex Engine as Just Cause 4, the dev’s recent chart hit.

Though the Swedish studio is known for its chaotic sandbox games, with Generation Zero the small team of 30 wants to marry its open world go-anywhere-doanything style with subtler ideas. “We want players to be able to do unique things, to try and lure enemies into traps or trick them, and turn the tables to your advantage, because you don’t just want to go in and run and gun, as you’ll probably make it really tough on yourself,” says Keslin.

This is because the shooter is built around something the team has termed “guerrilla action”. It’s slower than previous Avalanche games, it’s not stealth but somewhere in between Far Cry 5 and Metal Gear Solid V.

Keslin explains: “You need to be smart when you enter a battle […] You’re looking to collect some ammo, maybe you only have so many items that you picked up along the way. Are you really ready for this fight you’re about to get into? If you’re not, part-way through the fight you can leave and retreat. You can still call that a victory [because you’ve learned from it] and you can go and find some place to heal, and when you come back the enemies that you just fought will still have their health depleted.”

ROBO-PALS

Playing solo or with three friends in co-op (Keslin explains this isn’t a shared world or an MMO, but a strict, closed co-op experience) you need to manage your items and weapons. The dev reveals guns will be tiered by rarity. Looting abandoned buildings helps (typical gear includes flares, fireworks, and health packs), as does scavenging from destroyed machines.

It all comes to a head in combat when you need to juggle going in for the kill with the real danger you could burn through your ammunition and items and be left vulnerable. Sometimes retreating to safety, foraging for gear, and making a triumphant return to the fray can be a better choice. Often you may choose to skirt around the machines altogether, deciding to push on and uncover more of the story than risk losing everything in a fight.

When it comes to the game’s narrative structure Keslin says, “We want it to feel like you’re uncovering the mystery yourself […] You’re trying to understand, how did they get there? Where are they from? What’s going on?”

RUNAWAY SUCCESS

There will be standard side-quest opportunities and explorable hub areas to launch new missions and alternate quests from. But this is a world that really unfolds the more you investigate. “There’s not an overabundance of handholding,” says Keslin.

The game requires you to explore its world and uncover the story of why these machines are terrorising Sweden. You’ll be doing a lot of leg work for yourself, having to think things through, to piece the story together, in what Keslin promises will be a “very narrative-driven” shooter.

This is done against the backdrop of ’80s Sweden, the time of the Cold War and technological revolution. “So you get the weird wackiness of the ’80s, but on top of that you have robotics and computers really starting to take off, so that’s where a lot of the narrative comes into play,” laughs the game’s dev.

A tech-obsessed retro setting, machines on the march, and Avalanche’s knack for crafting a beautiful open world – how can you not be excited? All it needs now is Ally Sheedy.

“ARE YOU REALLY READY FOR THIS FIGHT YOU’RE ABOUT TO GET INTO?”