The Anacrusis

Last updated

The Anacrusis
The Anacrusis.jpg
Developer(s) Stray Bombay
Publisher(s) Stray Bombay
Engine Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s) Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S
ReleaseDecember 5, 2023
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Multiplayer

The Anacrusis is a first-person shooter video game released in December 2023, following a period of early access that began in January 2022. Primarily a co-operative multiplayer game, a team of four must overcome hordes of alien invaders on board a space station to reach a specified goal. The game is the debut title by Stray Bombay, and the gameplay is similar to the Left 4 Dead series, on which studio co-founder Chet Faliszek had previously worked.

Contents

Gameplay

The Brute charges towards the player character and their team, other aliens follow. HUD elements indicating the weaponry and team health are visible The Anacrusis - Gameplay.jpg
The Brute charges towards the player character and their team, other aliens follow. HUD elements indicating the weaponry and team health are visible

The Anacrusis is a first-person shooter with a focus on co-operative gameplay in a similar style to the Left 4 Dead series. The game is set on board a retrofuturistic space station during an alien incursion. In the main campaign mode, a four-player team must fight their way through alien hordes to reach the objective. Among the horde are special aliens with unique abilities, such as the Flasher, who can blind players. Players can upgrade their characters during the campaign by finding Matter Compilers, which will award the player with a selection of randomly selected upgrades. [1] [2]

The game uses a dynamic difficulty system, and because it was built upon the AI Director philosophy from Left 4 Dead, it was named the AI Director 2.0. The Director 2.0 adjusts enemy placements to create moments of downtime in between moments of intensity, with aim to make every team feel like "they're at the cusp of skill". The Director 2.0 has more inputs available to it compared to Left 4 Dead, and has more levers to vary the difficulty and intensity, such as adjusting Matter Compiler points to encourage risky detours. [3] [4]

Aside from the main campaign, there is a timed co-operative Holdout mode; and a player versus player Versus mode, which allows players to control the special aliens against the human survivors. When there are fewer than four-players, bots will act as a substitute. [5] [6]

Development

Stray Bombay was formed in 2019 by Chet Faliszek and Kim Voll with the intention to create co-operative video games. Faliszek had previously worked on the Left 4 Dead series as a writer and co-lead. [7] [8] The Anacrusis was announced two years later at the 2021 Summer Games Fest, and would become their debut title. [9] The name refers to the musical term anacrusis, referencing the notes before the first downbeat in a piece of music, with the player characters caught in a skirmish against the alien threat "in the beats before [it] turns to soldiers, pilots, and space fighters". [10] The game's setting was inspired by 60s and 70s science fiction, Faliszek enjoyed shows such as Space: 1999 , Logan's Run , and Battlestar Galactica when he was growing up, and he describes the sci-fi of this era as "more about taking what we have in the real world but making it strange than the smaller/faster/better that happened once the integrated circuit captured the public's imagination." [11]

The game was released in early access on January 13, 2022, with an initial three co-operative campaign episodes. [12] [13] Stray Bombay updated the game throughout the early access period, and valued the feedback they received through their public Discord channel. Mod support had been a priority for Stray Bombay, and an update in June 2022 included community made mods; full Steam Workshop integration came in November 2022. [11] [14] [15] A new Holdout co-operative game mode was added in April 2022, and fourth campaign episode was released in beta form in October 2022. [5] [16] By January 2023, Rock, Paper, Shotgun noted the game had more varied weaponry, enemies that provided more feedback on being hit, and general improvements to the game's stability, though cautioned that "plenty of glitches could [still] use some attention". [17] In June 2023, Stray Bombay released Versus Mode for the game, and was the last game mode to be released before the game's official launch in December 2023, which also saw the release of the fifth campaign episode. [6] [18]

Prior to the full release of the game, Faliszek reflected on the early access experience, and wrote that he would not use it for future releases. He said that for smaller multiplayer games like The Anacrusis, the concurrent player count was under-counted in the publicly visible Steam statistics, discouraging potential customers from buying a supposedly "dead game". [19] He also believed making the game available through Game Pass had cannibalised their sales. [20]

Reception

Reviews during the early access period were mixed. Tyler Wilde, writing at PC Gamer found The Anacrusis less appealing than Left 4 Dead . He described the space station setting as "more like arena shooter levels than human habitats". He criticised the lack of feedback from the guns and the enemies, describing the weaponry feeling like "a UI element rather than an object", and that the enemies "can come across like holograms that don't truly inhabit the space or feel the impacts of sizzling plasma bolts". [21] IGN had similar concerns about the gunplay, their reviewer Luke Winkie wrote, "there are only three basic weapons, and each of them feel nearly identical and lack the same kinetic, fleshy feedback you find in say, Back 4 Blood ." [13] Others were more positive, Andy Brown at the NME fondly recalled his experience holding out against a horde on The Anacrusis's space disco level to its "catchy funk-rock soundtrack". [22] The team at Rock, Paper, Shotgun found the perks interesting, noting how it could allow for a degree of specialisation in the characters, and saw promise in the replayability offered by the Director. [12]

Reviews did not improve following the game's official launch. IGN revisited the game and awarded it 4/10, and the Edge review gave it 5/10. Both outlets enjoyed the retrofuturistic space station aesthetics, but it was not enough to overcome the derivative gameplay. Edge wrote that "the weapons and enemies are nigh indistinguishable from their Left 4 Dead counterparts" and that the special aliens were just "familiar monsters in futuristic cosplay". [23] IGN reviewer Travis Northup agreed, concluding that "[it] borrows so much from Left 4 Dead that it forgets to do its own thing and refuses to benefit from 15 years of co-op shooter evolution". [24]

Related Research Articles

<i>TimeSplitters 2</i> 2002 video game

TimeSplitters 2 is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Free Radical Design, published by Eidos Interactive, and released in October 2002 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. The game's story focuses on the efforts of a space marine who seeks to recover powerful time crystals from a race of alien mutants called TimeSplitters, which leads them to taking on the form of an individual dealing with their own problems across different time periods between the 19th and 25th century. The developers focused on expanding the story element following 2000's TimeSplitters, and features influences from various film genres, including horror, action and science fiction.

<i>Team Fortress 2</i> 2007 video game

Team Fortress 2 (TF2) is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 Team Fortress mod for Quake and its 1999 remake, Team Fortress Classic. The game was released in October 2007 as part of The Orange Box for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox 360, and ported to the PlayStation 3 in December 2007. It was released as a standalone game for Windows in April 2008, and updated to support macOS in June 2010 and Linux in February 2013. It is distributed online through Valve's digital retailer Steam, with Electronic Arts managing retail and console editions.

<i>Left 4 Dead</i> 2008 video game

Left 4 Dead is a 2008 first-person shooter game developed by Valve South and published by Valve. It was originally released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in November 2008 and for Mac OS X in October 2010, and is the first title in the Left 4 Dead series. Set during the aftermath of a zombie outbreak on the East Coast of the United States, the game pits its four protagonists, dubbed the "Survivors", against hordes of the infected.

<i>Killing Floor</i> (video game) 2009 video game

Killing Floor is a cooperative first-person shooter video game developed and published by Tripwire Interactive. It was originally released as an Unreal Tournament 2004 mod in 2005. A full retail release followed on May 14, 2009, for Microsoft Windows, and for OS X on May 5, 2010. A version for Linux was released via Steam in November 2012.

<i>Left 4 Dead 2</i> 2009 video game

Left 4 Dead 2 is a 2009 first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve. The sequel to Left 4 Dead (2008) and the second game in the Left 4 Dead series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in November 2009, Mac OS X in October 2010, and Linux in July 2013.

Left 4 Dead is a series of cooperative first-person shooter survival horror video games published by Valve. Set in the days after a pandemic outbreak of a viral strain transforming people into zombie-like feral creatures, the games follow the adventures of four survivors attempting to reach safe houses and military rescue while fending off the attacking hordes.

<i>Alien Swarm</i> 2010 video game

Alien Swarm is a multiplayer top-down shooter video game developed by Valve. It is a remake of a mod for Unreal Tournament 2004, and it was developed by the original team, who were hired by Valve during the course of the development process.

Old Man Murray (OMM) is a UGO Networks computer game commentary and reviews site, known for its highly irreverent and satiric tone. Founded in 1997, it was written and edited by Chet Faliszek and Erik Wolpaw. Old Man Murray was critical of games that received strong reviews elsewhere, Common targets of OMM news updates included John Romero and American McGee. Old Man Murray was a significant early influence in both the world of game development and internet comedy, and is often considered to have "helped birth online games journalism".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chet Faliszek</span> American videogame writer

Chet Faliszek is an American video game writer who has worked for companies like Valve and Bossa Studios, having been involved in the story writing for series such as Half-Life, Portal, and Left 4 Dead.

<i>Kerbal Space Program</i> Space flight simulator video game

Kerbal Space Program (KSP) is a space flight simulation video game developed by Mexican studio Squad for Linux, macOS, Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. In the game, players direct the space program of a species of green humanoid aliens known as "Kerbals". The game features a pseudorealistic orbital physics engine, allowing for various real-life orbital maneuvers such as Hohmann transfer orbits and orbital rendezvous.

Survival mode, or horde mode, is a game mode in a video game in which the player must continue playing for as long as possible without dying in an uninterrupted session while the game presents them with increasingly difficult waves of challenges. A variant of the mode requires that the player last for a certain finite amount of time or number of waves, after which victory is achieved and the mode ends. Survival mode has been compared to the gameplay of classic arcade games, where players face off against increasingly stronger waves of enemies. This mode was intended to give the game a definite and sometimes sudden ending, so that other players could then play the arcade game as well.

<i>Deep Rock Galactic</i> 2020 video game

Deep Rock Galactic is a cooperative first-person shooter video game developed by Danish studio Ghost Ship Games and published by Coffee Stain Publishing. Deep Rock Galactic was fully released on May 13, 2020 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One after its early access release in February 28, 2018. The game was later released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in January 2022, and for Xbox Series X/S in September 2022.

<i>Warhammer 40,000: Darktide</i> 2022 video game

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a first-person action video game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, developed and published by Fatshark. It is a spiritual successor to the Warhammer: Vermintide series. It was released for Microsoft Windows on 30 November 2022. It also was released for Xbox Series X/S on 4 October 2023.

<i>eFootball</i> Football simulation video game

eFootball is a series of association football simulation video games developed and published by Konami. It has been completely rebranded from the original Pro Evolution Soccer series. The game's first year, entitled eFootball 2022, was released on 30 September 2021. It was later changed to the game's second year, eFootball 2023, on August 25, 2022 and the game's third year, eFootball 2024 on September 7, 2023. This game is part of the International Esports Federation's World Championship and North and Eastern Europa League (NEEC).

<i>Battlefield 2042</i> 2021 video game

Battlefield 2042 is a 2021 first-person shooter, developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. The twelfth main installment in the Battlefield series, it was released on November 19, 2021, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. 2042 is the first installment since 2006's Battlefield 2142 to solely be a multiplayer video game, without a single-player campaign. It is also the first installment to feature support for cross-platform play.

<i>Second Extinction</i> Cancelled video game

Second Extinction was a cooperative first-person shooter developed and published by Systemic Reaction for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. In the game, mutated dinosaurs have taken over the Earth, and players must work together in fighting a war against the animals. The game received an early access release through Steam on October 13, 2020, and through Xbox Game Preview on April 28, 2021. Originally scheduled to leave early access and Game Preview on October 20, 2022, the full launch was delayed several times due to critical issues, and was eventually cancelled due to the lack of necessary resources to do so. The game is scheduled to shut down in 2024.

<i>Orion: Prelude</i> 2012 video game

Orion: Prelude is a first-person shooter and online cooperative multiplayer game, developed and published by Spiral Game Studios for Microsoft Windows. In the game, armed players work together to defend generators against dinosaurs.

<i>Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2</i> 2024 video game

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II is a third-person shooter hack-n-slash video game developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Entertainment as a sequel to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (2011). The game was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X /S on 9 September 2024. The game received generally positive reviews from critics.

<i>Arizona Sunshine 2</i> 2023 video game

Arizona Sunshine 2 is a 2023 first-person shooter video game developed and published by Vertigo Games. A sequel to Arizona Sunshine (2016), the game was released for virtual reality devices such as Meta Quest headsets, PlayStation VR2, SteamVR and Pico 4 in December 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Delaney, Mark (January 6, 2022). "The Anacrusis Aliens Guide: All Special Alien Types And Their Abilities". GameSpot . Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  2. ↑ Franey, Joel (January 12, 2022). "All Anacrusis perks and the best ones to pick from Matter Compilers". GamesRadar+ . Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  3. ↑ Carpenter, Lincoln (November 14, 2021). "The Anacrusis is a co-op FPS that understands you want to hang out with your friends". PC Gamer . Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  4. ↑ Faliszek, Chet (November 16, 2021). "Introducing the AI Director, Version 2.0". The Anacrusis Steam News Hub. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Update 4.0: The Really Really Big Update". The Anacrusis. April 20, 2022. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Update 35 - Welcome to the Summer of Versus!". The Anacrusis. June 27, 2023. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  7. ↑ Faliszek, Chet; Voll, Kimberly (March 19, 2019). "Welcome To Stray Bombay Company". Stray Bombay. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  8. ↑ Sam Machkovech (November 21, 2023). "15 years later, Chet Faliszek dishes on the making of Left 4 Dead". Game Developer . Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  9. ↑ Bailey, Kat (June 15, 2021). "The Anacrusis Officially Announced: Former Valve Writer Chet Faliszek Reveals Left 4 Dead-Style Co-op Shooter - Summer of Gaming". IGN . Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  10. ↑ Ramée, Jordan (June 23, 2021). "In The Anacrusis, Infinite Replayability Shapes How It Tells Its Story". GameSpot . Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  11. 1 2 Crecente, Brian (April 20, 2022). "The Anacrusis' colorful retro futurism delivers Left 4 Dead play to '70s outer space". Unreal Engine . Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Ed Thorn (January 13, 2022). "The Anacrusis is so much more than a sci-fi Left 4 Dead-like". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Winkie, Luke (March 21, 2022). "The Anacrusis Early Access Review". IGN . Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Update 5.0 - The MODerately Extravagant Update". The Anacrusis. June 8, 2022. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Update 6.1 - Enter Steam Workshop". Steam News . November 30, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Update 6 - Guns Guns Guns!". The Anacrusis. October 14, 2022. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  17. ↑ James Archer (January 13, 2023). "The Anacrusis, one year on: "This is the game we wanted to release"". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Version 1.0!". Steam News . December 5, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  19. ↑ Smith, Ed (November 28, 2023). "Ex Valve dev says Steam Early Access doesn't work for PC game launches". PCGamesN . Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  20. ↑ Bartelson, Eric (December 6, 2023). "Chet Faliszek about his indie debut The Anacrusis 'I hope we pull off a miracle'". PreMortem Games. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  21. ↑ Wilde, Tyler (February 16, 2022). "The Anacrusis illustrates just how ingenious Left 4 Dead really was". PC Gamer . Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  22. ↑ Brown, Andy (January 12, 2022). "'The Anacrusis' preview: an interstellar co-op shooter brimming with colour". NME . Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Play: The Anacrusis". Edge . No. 393. February 2024. pp. 110–111.
  24. ↑ Travis Northup (December 8, 2023). "The Anacrusis Review". IGN . Retrieved August 24, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.