The Final Station - Review

Feel like riding the rails through a stunning, yet rotting, world of shady governments and the undead? Well, that's your mission, and it may be humanity's last hope. All aboard for The Final Station, a side-scrolling, cross-country pixel-horror developed by Do My Best Games and published by tinyBuild Games. There will be no hot drinks or snacks served on this service. 

What there will be, however, is a thought-provoking combination of music and pixel-art. The soundtrack, composed by Geoff Hart-Jones, first grabs hold in the title screen and doesn't let go until the credits roll. (You can check out his work on Soundcloud, or chat with him on Facebook and Twitter.) Pair this with TFS' pixel-art — which is perfect for showing the beauty of the surviving world, the horrors within it, and the untold stories of its inhabitants  — and you have a gripping experience that goes much further than its familiar gameplay structure would make you think.

In essence, TFS has two main sections of gameplay; managing a train and its passengers, and exploring stations and towns in search of survivors, supplies and blocker codes. The latter is the only way to progress from one station to the next.

The train management sections are similar to Faster Than Light, albeit a much stripped back version. In these you keep an eye on your passengers' health and hunger stats and feed or heal them when the time arises. If the time arises. Supplies are hard to find, and the reward that passenger's safe journey may bring you (normally money or ammo), may not be worth taking a precious medi-kit from your own inventory. The choice is yours. Keeping them alive does nurture some interesting conversations, though, which give fleeting insight into the decaying state of the often beautiful world that you're steaming through.

While doing that, the train has a few issues of its own. A few different systems around the train tend to break, and to fix them and keep power flowing through the carriages, mini games need to be completed. For the most part, these are extremely easy, but on the occasion that you have a train full of hungry, bleeding passengers, it can be a nice challenge to juggle the tasks. 

Occasionally there'll be a notification directing you to the front of the train. When this happens, someone working somewhere along the rails wants to talk. These conversations are short, but left me with snapshots into what others were going through. It gave me a tip-of-an-iceberg feeling that only made me feel more entrenched into the world of TFS.

When you reach a station, the second part of gameplay takes over. You're on foot, armed with a pistol, shotgun, or machine-gun, and you're tasked with exploring a town or station to find the code for the blocker that's stopping the train in its tracks, quite literally. 

Either you'll find a town full of people, conversations, shops and hints of a shady government working beneath it all, or you'll find silent stations full of '​them'. In The Final Station, ​'they' are zombies.

Zombies are represented as two eyes in a silhouette, but those silhouettes come in a number of different shapes and sizes. A 'regular' build is your average Romero zombie; Slow moving, downed with one shot to the head, but dangerous in numbers. If that was all TFS would be a walk — or train journey — in the park.

Gradually introduced throughout the game are smaller zombies, built for speed; taller zombies, built for defense and power; and armoured zombies, who can only be killed with a headshot once their helmets have been knocked off. There's also a couple more, but I won't spoil them because then they might not surprise you like they did me. 

And you will be surprised, I'm sure. Only by opening a door will you be shown what is waiting inside. It could be food, ammo, money, but it could also be a horde of 'them'. Depending on how many of them there are, it can be better to run than use up what's left of your ammo. Another option is punching your way through. Punching works best on less energetic varieties, but is often the only way to thin a herd without running out of bullets.

Then, when you've searched almost everywhere, there'll be a note on the wall. This will probably be the blocker code, a four-digit code that lets the train pass. My favourite thing about these blocker codes and DMB Games' level design is that once I found the code, I knew that I'd seen all there was to see. More often than not, there was then a very clear path back to the train that didn't involve backtracking. I never felt like I'd missed anything, and I left each town or station feeling like all loose ends were tied up. It was a consistent sense of satisfaction.

Consistence is another thing that TFS does well. The game follows this train management to station exploration tag-team throughout and rather than becoming monotonous, it feels right. The developers found a structure that seemed to work, and they stuck to it. Thanks to this consistence I was able to take the time to appreciate the beauty and unrest of the world.

In towns, trains were being cancelled leaving people with nowhere to go, and others were in hiding, either at their church or deep underground with a shotgun held to their chest. All the time, an overly aggressive police force watched over them, begging somebody to step out of line. Each town was full of hidden people and moments that pieced together a world that, ironically, was falling apart.

Then, on the train, the backdrops were often as gorgeous as they were haunting. Snowy mountains, towering cities, a silent lake house, followed by the occasional gas canister or graffiti: "The Guardian will save us."

I never really found out what The Guardian was, though I know I helped to transport parts for it, but I'm okay with that. A lot of TFS' stories are hidden in shadows and only see light when completed in your own mind, so it feels right that humanity's last hope and its results are equally murky. However, some of these mysteries may have been answered without me knowing...

One minor issue I found was that I was unable to read all of the conversations between passengers, due to running up and down the carriages to fix machinery and grab supplies. These conversations felt important to the narrative of the game, but it was impossible to read them all and keep the train running. If I were to miss anything in terms of context or information, it would have been during those conversations. 

Also, in direct contradiction, sometimes I couldn't help but read the conversations because the text boxes covered up tasks that I was trying to complete. It didn't happen often, though it's one to watch out for.

In relation to the tasks, they seem to be isolated to only one machine at a time. Early on when there's little to do between stations it would have been nice for multiple objects to fix, as I found myself twiddling my thumbs. Not that I really minded... The pixel-art scenery rolling past the train is truly mesmerising.

Controller support, which I much prefer and used throughout, was also a little sensitive for aiming. Not a deal-breaker, although I couldn't see any sensitivity settings to tweak, which might have been helpful. As you can see, there's nothing that took me off the rails in terms of negative feedback, and definitely no blockers to my enjoyment.

See that? That's a blocker. It's empty because it didn't block my enjoyment.

Overall, The Final Station is a 5-6 hour journey that you should definitely be taking. You'll travel through a world of beautiful pixel-art scenery, thriving towns of fear, confusion, and shady governments, all of which is broken up nicely by exploring abandoned, zombie-filled train stations complemented by TFS' haunting soundtrack (which you can buy!).

Though the train management sections could take a leaf out of Faster Than Light's difficulty book, and also revealed a few issues in pacing, text overlap and missing dialogue, the game is all the better for its consistent mix between the two types of gameplay. At only £10.99 ($14.99) on Steam, it costs about as much as a train journey and is a hell of a lot more fun. Jump on board before it leaves the station, because who knows when they may arrive.

The Final Station is on PC, PS4 and Xbox One right now, and you can find out more about the game on its website, or by chatting with the developers or publishers on Twitter.

Or you can come at chat to me! (Go on, I have a competition running and you could win Resident Evil HD on PS4 if you enter by Sunday 11th 2016.)

Top 10 Horror Games at E3 2016

E3 2016. Wow. As always, this past week of E3 has been a whirlwind of conferences, presentations, streams, announcements, secrets, trailers and gameplay. It's an amazing time to be a gamer. Luckily for us, it's also an amazing time to love horror games, because a good selection of games shown across the week were either outright horror, or had a disturbing twist to them. 

In case you missed anything, here's my top 10 horror games at E3 2016 (in no particular order):

1. Friday the 13th: The Game

[Ki ki ki ma ma ma]

That's right. Jason is back in Friday the 13th: The Game, and he's once more terrorising the teens of Crystal Lake in an asymmetric multiplayer that was funded on Kickstarter. One player controls Jason, while another four players work together to escape by a few different means, such as calling the police or fixing a truck. Until recently we'd only peeped through the hockey mask at a slither of pre-alpha gameplay, but this all changed at E3 2016.

Gameplay footage was shown and revealed Jason's gory environmental kills (based on kills from the films), his ability to teleport, and also a little snapshot into playing as a counsellor. Hint: they don't do so well in this playthrough. 

2. We Happy Few

This isn't the first time we've seen We Happy Few, but many a gamer has been waiting to see more. While it isn't strictly horror, what we've seen so far seems to tread the line between Bioshock and Clockwork Orange, which is a pretty cool and/or disturbing mix, if you ask me. At E3 2016, we were treated to another trailer, which shows a much darker side to the ever-joyous characters of WHF, who seem to have a real thing against anyone not taking their meds:

3. State of Decay 2

To much celebration, a sequel to the popular zombie strategy/survival game, State of Decay, was announced. Available only on Xbox 360 and PC, and later Xbox One, the sequel looks to follow this trend. It seems that the game's emphasis on building relationships with the NPCs and using teamwork to survive is a present as in the first game, and this is no doubt a game that has many gamers foaming at the mouth. 

4. Observer

Though little was shown for the newly-announced Observer, the trailer below was enough for the game to hack its way onto my radar. It's believed that the game is based around the concept of going into other people's dreams, which seem to much more closely resemble nightmares. The aspect of this game that excites me most is that dreams, or nightmares, could lend themselves to a variety of scary scenarios and still make sense within the confines of the narrative. Nothing is scarier than the unknown.

5. Days Gone

I have to admit, this reveal almost didn't make the list. First described as a post-apocalyptic (yes) Sons of Anarchy (meh), I wasn't convinced. Thankfully, a good chunk of gameplay was also shown, revealing hordes upon hordes of infected, swarming towards our Harley-riding protagonist in a way that resembled the undead crowds of World War Z. Not only is it pretty pleasing to the eye, but the absolute number of infected on-screen, and the fluidity at which they appear, is downright impressive. Days Gone has swarmed right over my scepticism and onto my E3 2016 wishlist.

6. Prey

I'd prayed for Prey, ever since the free-running, sci-fi bounty hunter gameplay that was shown for Prey 2 back in 2013. Then everything went quiet. It was unclear whether Prey 2 would ever see the neon light of day. Technically, it hasn't, because what was revealed at E3 2016 was only named Prey. All we know so far is that it will be set on a space station in 2036 where an experiment has gone wrong. Surprisingly, Prey seems to have ditched its previous parkour bounty hunter vibes for a creep factor.

I was so excited for the previous version that I'm actually not completely won over by the horror aspect yet, which is something I never thought I'd say. Let's hope we don't have to wait until 2036 to see more.

7. Dead Rising 4

Yet another Dead Rising sequel will be shuffling its way onto consoles this Winter, and it was revealed at E3 2016 with an incredibly festive trailer and 14 minutes (less if you remove the loading time, which seemed long) of gameplay. It looks to continue with the tongue-in-cheek gameplay that people have come to expect from the series, showing off massive hordes of zombies, an electric axe, a crossbow with firework explosives, an exo-suit and more. For those that love Frank West and his zany adventures, this looks to please, though I personally find the series to be a little repetitive. See what you think of the gameplay:

8. Killing Floor: Incursion

If you're looking to merge FPS action with horror and blow off some steam while you do it, I can't think of a better game than Tripwire's Killing Floor. I'm a massive fan of Killing Floor 2, and so I was pleasantly surprised to see the announcement of Killing Floor: Incursion at E3 2016, a new game in the works for Oculus Touch. It looks like it will bring the same over-the-top action and gore to the world of VR, making the gruesome creatures all that much more gruesome. I'm really not looking forward to see the spider-mutants up close...

9. Vampyr

From the first time I saw Vampyr, a surprisingly thoughtful action-RPG set in Victorian London, it had its fangs well and truly in me. Players will control Jonathan E. Reid, a doctor whom was recently turned into a vampire. He is now driven by a thirst for blood in a world where every choice he makes, every person he kills, will have consequences further down the line. These consequences, and the morals of this cursed protagonist, will be entirely in the hands of the player. It's an interesting concept, and one that could have players questioning just how carefully  they walk the path between murder and survival.

10. Resident Evil 7 

Resident Evil is back. And, for the first time in a few years, Capcom have actually given gamers hope that the series is heading backing to its horror roots. With a trailer that actually looked creepy, and an apparent move over to first-person horror, it looks to be a divisive, but much-needed change to bring the series back to relevance. Even more surprising, a demo entitled 'Beginning Hour' was immediately available on the PS Store. Naturally, I downloaded it as fast as I could and you can read what I thought in my preview. Here's the E3 2016 trailer:

Bonus

Here's a couple of bonus additions for you - because I'm nice like that.

Death Stranding

Might as well start with a game we know almost nothing about... For example, it may not even be a horror game. Death Stranding is the latest partnership between Hideo Kojima and Norman Reedus, who were working together on the much-anticipated, and unfortunately cancelled, Silent Hills. While we're yet to understand what is even going on in the trailer below, it's clearly a strange and unnerving affair. This mysterious blip will be on many radars after E3.

Inside

The next game from the studio behind Limbo has still revealed very little to the public, so there's a chance that it won't actually create any fear in the player. However, based on the bleak world that has been shown so far, and the elements of horror that were as much a part of Limbo as the puzzle-solving and platforming, I'm betting that there will be something for horror-lovers to enjoy when Inside is release. Watch the short trailer shown at E3 2016:

That wraps up the list of top 10 horror games that caught my eye during E3 2016, along with a couple of bonus games that may or may not fit into the horror genre at all. Either way, it's a list of games that I'm pretty excited for.

Which game are you most looking forward to? Let me know! I've always got time to talk horror. Please leave a comment or start a chat with me over on Twitter.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Episode 1

I used to love Resident Evil. Truly. It was a classic horror back in the day, with an interesting narrative and characters that I wanted to get a beer with - or maybe a milkshake, I was pretty young when the first games came out. Resident Evil 4 remains one of my all-time favourites PS2 games, and even though it added a bit more action into the mix, it did it with finesse. Then came the rest. Full of zombies (or zombie-esque creatures)? Yes. Same characters from before? Sure. Even a little bit fun? Possibly. Did it feel like Resident Evil? Not at all. The line between action and horror had been well and truly crossed. 

Resident Evil: Revelations on the 3DS aimed to change this, and while I can't say that it really scared me, it was more enjoyable than some previous entries in the series. This lead to Resident Evil: Revelations 2, an episodic sequel that was also released on consoles. Critically, it has been doing quite well, but does it feel like Resident Evil? I found out when I played Episode 1 at the weekend.

Episode 1 is aptly named "Penal Colony," because that's where it takes place. Not before a lavish work party, though. It is here that we first see Claire Redfield, long-time character of the series. Claire first showed up in Resident Evil 2 looking for her brother, Chris (remember the guy that punched that rock in Resident Evil 5), in the chaos of the Raccoon City outbreak. Of course, she found Leon first, and they spent an amazing zombie-filled time together, with the diner and the truck crash and the "lickers." Good times.

Anyway, Claire now works for Terra Save, who specialise in protecting the world from acts of bioterrorism. She's not the only one on the payroll, either. Moira Burton, daughter of fan-favourite, Barry Burton, known for his beard, his magnum, and Jill sandwiches, has also just started. That means she's at the same Christmas party as Claire when all of the employees are abducted. Claire wakes up in a cell, understandably confused and groggy. Luckily, the cell door opens itself and she is quickly reunited with Moira. Then Episode 1 truly begins.

The first episode of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 doesn't tell the whole story (either in plot or in its full potential), but I wasn't blown away by its level of tension. For starters, Moira is along for the ride. She can either be switched to by the player, or controlled by another in co-op, neither of which leave you feeling entirely alone as in the first RE games. Capcom isn't quite moving away from their goal of action-orientated "horror" just yet, and considering reviews have been positive, I had assumed Revelations 2 was a step in the right direction. I didn't really get that feeling from Episode 1. 

Furthermore, movement and fighting tend to feel a bit clunky, mainly because you're forced into playing like you're in an action game, when you really shouldn't be. It feels like the series doesn't fit well enough within its own combined genre to keep up with itself. And, because of its closeness to the later games in the series, I had hoped that this might be sugar-coated by the cool finishing moves. No luck. Though you can press a button when an enemy (still closer to the majini/ouroboros making than classic zombies) is stunned. More often than not, though, they are knocked to the floor, rather than finished in the spectacle I had learned to love in Resident Evil 5. 

Quite similar to recent RE games are the puzzles, which are relatively simple and normally revolve around finding a missing item or restoring power to an area (at least in this episode, anyway). They're an expected part of the game, and I felt like they neither added nor detracted from the experience. They just were. However, I did think it was a nice touch to explore an area later with a different character, as I'd then have different items and abilities, giving me access to locked rooms and puzzle solutions that weren’t possible before. 

Different characters will be a regular occurrence, I'm sure, as Episode 1 featured 4 characters. The first two were Claire Redfield and Moira Burton, who can be switched between on the fly (or controlled by two separate players) and are used for different purposes. 

Claire has the guns, ready to shoot someone, or more likely something, between the eyes at a moment's notice. Moira, on the other hand, has a crowbar and a torch, and feels a little more useless. Her role in the team is to open doors and crates with the crowbar, whack anything that gets too close, and shine the torch at hidden objects or into hostile eyes to stun. She's not in enough danger for it to be tense, even when split up, but she's also not powerful enough to be cool. 

The second duo is more interesting. Barry Burton, the red-headed fan favourite previously mentioned, and Natalia, a little girl whom he finds when he arrives on the island of the penal colony. Needless to say, he's searching for his daughter. He somehow managed to get his hands on a call for help from Moira, sent from the colony's ancient comms system over six months ago.

While Barry brings the firepower, the mysterious Natalia is able to crawl through small spaces to access areas that Barry cannot, and also sense nearby danger. While I have no idea how she can do this, a faint glow shows when hostiles are waiting just out of sight. It is an interesting idea, but was introduced in an area where the undead were especially slow and unthreatening. Combine that with the fact that stealth kills were introduced, and I’ve never felt safer in a game where creatures want to eat my flesh.

Is it all bad? Not at all. While Episode 1 didn't reach the level of hype (and horror) I had been hoping for, it is undeniably fun. It was a great feeling to be back in the Resident Evil universe, and Capcom have at least added a few one-liners into the dialogue that refer to moments in the original games. For example, Claire refers to the infamous “Jill sandwich” line, to which Moira mentions that her Dad never stops telling the story. It was a nice touch, and momentarily bathed me in beautiful nostalgia. Here's another nice example:

Another section of Episode 1 that I was actually pleasantly surprised by was towards the end of the experience. I was playing as Barry, night had fallen in a forest setting, and I was faced with an entirely new opponent. While I won’t ruin what this opponent was, mainly because new creatures are one of the most enjoyable things about the series at present, it actually felt somewhat atmospheric. Now that’s a pleasant surprise. Sure, it didn’t last too long, but for a moment there it actually felt like Resident Evil.

At the end of the day, that is what I’m waiting for. While Capcom clearly isn’t ready to take us back to an entire experience that is truly tense and horror-focused, and gameplay often feels clunky and mediocre, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 – Episode 1 does have a few moments that reminded me of the games I once loved. The plot raises enough questions that I wanted answering, old favourites return alongside a couple of new characters, and I can’t deny that I had fun. A pretty mixed picture, I know.

Is this game worth getting? That’s the main question that every review should answer. Based on Episode 1, yes. If you love Resident Evil, even if you’ve tried to ignore the existence of the series’ most recent games, you will find something to enjoy here. It is relatively cheap, available on Steam, Vita and next-gen consoles, and can probably keep you entertained for a little while. However, don’t go in expecting this game to fix all of the problems that Capcom have created. 

They still don’t get what true horror is all about. Not like we do, right? After 100 days of these articles, you'd really hope so, anyway. That's right. This is my 100th horror game article in 100 days. Have you enjoyed it? I sure have. It's been exhausting, but rewarding, and I love horror just as much as when I started this personal challenge. Actually, maybe a little more. If you'd like to read through every single horror article I wrote in the last 100 days, you can find them right here. There's a healthy mix of news, previews, reviews, vague impressions, and terrified ramblings - so, something for everyone. I'm not going to stop writing altogether, though I'll definitely take a little bit of time off after this to spend at least a couple of evenings do absolutely nothing. 

If you've enjoyed any of these writings, and don't really want it to be over, please start a conversation with me on Twitter. We can discuss how many spelling mistakes you found, or what your favourite horror games are, or just become best friends. The choice is yours. 

Until then, thank you so much for reading. You're the best.

The Walking Dead: Road to Survival

I seem to have been bitten by the zombie bug after writing about Overkill’s The Walking Dead, because lately I’ve been playing The Walking Dead: Road to Survival, a mobile game set in the same gritty universe. I’ve actually had the game on my phone for a few weeks, but considering you need internet access to even play the game (which I hate in a mobile game), I was waiting until I had a bit of spare time at home before trying it out. I shouldn’t have waited so long.

Road to Survival bleeds The Walking Dead from its comic book style visuals, to its gripping soundtrack, and even contains a few beloved characters from the series. Just like most mobile RPGs, you build a settlement from the ground up, creating and upgrading buildings, complete story and limited time only missions, and can join factions to work together. And, exactly like most mobile RPGs of this calibre, it is insanely addictive. I haven’t yet reached the point where I have to wait hours for buildings and upgrades to be ready, though, which, if I’m honest, is normally where I get bored.

Until then, I’ve been absolutely loving building my own little settlement in Robert Kirkman’s unforgiving world, and fighting the battles that take place in it, both against the undead and hostile survivors. In that respect, the narrative feels very much like the comic books or the television series; no-one can be trusted. Between fights, which use a similar strength and weakness system to that of Pokemon (e.g. fast characters are effective against tough characters, but weak against strong characters), players get to make choices. Just as you’d expect, these choices make you question the world around you, and the line between survival and humanity.

I made the choice to trust someone, and they sliced a young boy’s throat open in front of me. The next time I have to make a choice, I’ll have to weigh up the options. Do I let the world harden my humanity until I’ll stop at nothing to protect the few people I know I can trust? Or do I try to remain as the person I was before, and take a chance on the morality of survivors I meet? Either way, people could die. That’s on me.

It is these kind of choices, supported by the fitting visuals and soundtrack, which elevate Road to Survival from a simply mobile cash cow, to a game that is very much deserving to be part of The Walking Dead. Though I may not be in it for the long haul, mainly because I don’t always have time to be playing on my phone in a place where I have access to the internet, I have really enjoyed what I’ve played so far.

If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead, I’d definitely recommend this free iOS and Android game. Step into the undead-filled universe, build a settlement, make tough choices, and see if you can bring down The Governor in your own way.

Overkill's The Walking Dead

Almost every horror fan I know has gone through a zombie phase. For myself, I’ve always been a massive fan of the flesh-eating undead, but got a little tired when it seemed like every single game, book, comic, tv show or film seemed to focus on them. Then, when Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead shambled onto the scene, with its gripping comic book series adapted for living room screens, I was hooked all over again. 

This is why I’m eagerly awaiting OVERKILL and Starbreeze’s The Walking Dead game, which seems much more promising than any of the former titles. One such game was Survival Instinct, which felt like it was trying to piggyback on the success of the show, rather than creating something worth celebrating in its own right. This could all change in 2016.

The first thing worth noting is that the studios working on The Walking Dead are actually the very same studios that developed the Payday games. Weird choice, right? Maybe not. Not only are the Payday games incredibly popular, but their main focus is on co-op gameplay, which TWD games have been missing. Hell, the series is all about teams of people working together, trying to survive in a world that just seems to want to eat them (or shoot them through the face, for those less-friendly survivors). It will be interesting to see how people will have to work together to stay alive, and how the studios will bring the series into an online multiplayer setting. It doesn’t sound like they are taking this responsibility lightly, either.

Bloody Disgusting reported that “this Walking Dead won’t be the same kind of generic experience we usually get from licensed games. Overkill and Starbreeze are looking to create a unique and engrossing storyline within the Walking Dead universe that follows brand new characters.” What? Two quotes from them in two days is too much? Tell them to stop being so damn interesting.

Sure, it would be great to get some more information on this game, or even some screenshots or gameplay videos, but what we know is already pretty exciting. In-between watching The Walking Dead and the spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead, I’ll be watching out for some multiplayer zombie-killing news. I try not to get my hopes up when it comes to franchise games. I’ll admit that it’s a little too late on this one. Be excited with me and check out the website, Facebook or Twitter.

Umbrella Corps

Just when we thought Resident Evil was returning to its horror roots, with the surprisingly effective Revelations 2 and upcoming Resident Evil 0 remaster, Umbrella Corps was announced. Capcom's latest spin-off is a third-person competitive multiplayer shooter set in the Resident Evil universe.

For any long-time fans of the series (like myself), this couldn't be further from the kind of Resident Evil game that is wanted. Don't discount it entirely, though. While it is set in the RE universe, there won't be any RE characters involved, which at least means fan favourites can't be butchered. What Capcom is aiming for here is fast-paced action, and a way for the series to take a bite of the juicy brain that is the shooter market. Can't blame them for that, I guess.

In Umbrella Corps, gamers will go head-to-head in close-quarters environments, trying to survive in a vicious battle involving humans and zombies. One idea to come from this announcement that I think we can all get behind is the 'Brainer'. This beautiful tool, which looks similar to an extra deadly ice-pick, has multiple purposes. It can be used to instantly kill another player with a swift brain incision, to turn a zombie into an undead shield, or even quickly traverse the environment.

Players will also begin matches with something known as a Zombie Jammer. If this jammer gets damaged, all hell breaks loose, and zombies will swarm to the unfortunate player. Such a device may add a little strategy to Umbrella Corps, and I'm hoping for a few extra touches like this to flesh out the experience.

Only a few other details have been shared so far, including one game mode known as One Life Match. In this mode, it is three versus three, and players have one life and one life only. Once they've been shot in the face, stabbed in the brain, or devoured by zombies, all they can do is sit back and watch the match unfold. This will probably add another level of panic when a player realises that their Zombie Jammer is no longer working.

Am I disappointed that Capcom are spending their time on Umbrella Corps when they should be working on a core Resident Evil game that brings the series back to the forefront of horror? Sure. Will I be holding off on judgement until I see what else the game has to offer? Definitely. If I'm going to enjoy an upcoming shooter, it may as well have zombies in it. 

Killing Floor 2

Not all horror games need to be as immersive as Until Dawn or as mysterious as Limbo – sometimes they just want to show off how much chaos, mutilation and gore can be included in one fast-paced, action experience. Sometimes that’s all anyone really needs. It was certainly all I needed this past weekend, when Tripwire Interactive’s bloody multiplayer FPS, Killing Floor 2, went free-to-play for a short period of time. If I wasn’t writing, eating or sleeping, I was playing KF2, and here’s why.

For starters, it’s simple, messy fun. Up to 6 players are pitted against wave after wave of unusually ugly and aggressive enemies, and it is non-stop chaos from the moment the first round begins its unrelenting assault. KF2 is completely fine with this – it knows what it is, and doesn’t try to be anything else. Heavy metal plays over the top of the chaos, and while I can’t say it’s my go-to genre of music to listen to on a Sunday afternoon, it does a great job of getting the blood pumping – while it still remains in your body, anyway.

As players make their way through the rounds, the game becomes much harder, and introduces a multitude of new enemies that want to rip you to shreds. While the first wave consists mainly of zombie-like creatures that move slowly and are only really worth worrying about in big numbers, the latter stages include a mix of crawling spider-like enemies, obese acid-spewers, screaming banshees, and over-sized chainsaw wielding maniacs. Think Leatherface, if there were three of him, all running at you. And that's not all. If by some miracle you manage to make it through to the last round, you'll meet Doctor Hans Volter, a mad scientist that is now as much a robot as he is human, and he really, really wants you all dead. 

Well, it's mutual. You want him, and all of his friends, dead as well. How will you get the job done? GUNS. And lots of them. Using cash earned by killing the hordes, players can purchase guns, swords, armour, grenades and ammo – though these purchases are made at random vendors dotted around the maps, which can only be accessed at the end of each round for a limited amount of time. 

Each players begins with a handgun and an assault rifle, but can quickly earn the cash to branch out into any of the satisfying weapons on display. This includes assault rifles, SMGs, shotguns, flamethrowers, explosives, swords (such as a katana), and even more unusual weapons, like the Microwave Gun, which fires a ray of energy at oncoming enemies. Needless to say, there’s plenty of choice for any kind of playstyle, and it was immensely fun trying out all the different weapons on offer.

Even with all of this firepower, KF2 is the kind of game where you’ll play better as a team, as you can provide each other with items, such as health and ammo, and may just survive a little longer. If you do happen to get split off from the group, it’s extremely easy to become overwhelmed or cornered and curl up into a ball, waiting you die. You won’t have to wait long. Then you’re stuck watching everyone else have all the fun until your character is revived at the end of the round (having lost all of your purchased weapons).

There may be more to KF2 that I haven’t experienced, or that wasn’t available during the brief time that it was free, but I felt like it had enough to keep me going for a while. The Survival mode was incredibly fun, the enemies, weapons and maps were all varied, visually impressive and/or disgusting, and it quite quickly became a part of my morning, afternoon and evening routine. Don’t judge me, it was free for two days only and I made the most of it. I’d do it again. In fact, I’d probably play it more…

If you’re looking for your next team multiplayer, or even just looking for a fix of mindless, gory fun, Killing Floor 2 seems to be just perfect for it. It’s currently £13.79 on Steam, which is 33% off its regular price, and will only stay at this price for 6 more hours. So, y’know, get going. Now that it’s no longer available for free, I feel like I’m missing a big part of my new routine, and may have to buy it myself. Bravo, Tripwire. You got me.