On May 17, 2023, the early access of the cooperative shooter Starship Troopers: Extermination started. The cool game allows you to feel like a space marine and experience emotions similar to those seen in the cult movie Starship Troopers.
Recently, a lot of shooters from independent developers have begun to appear, which are based on the famous cinematic universes of the past. What is interesting: these cool games delight fans with increased attention to detail, as well as the overall atmosphere and authenticity of what is happening.
First we saw Terminator: Resistance, dedicated to the world of a dystopian future and the fight between people and machines. A little later, a cool game based on the RoboCop universe is expected. Well, Starship Troopers: Extermination wormed its way between them.
The film "Starship Troopers", based on the book of the same name, is considered a failure. That, however, did not prevent him from becoming famous over time and gaining many fans. And this is felt especially clearly in our area, where this film lay on a cassette at home for many.
Few, by the way, know that the book originally told about fighters in exoskeletons, and not at all about simple infantry, which was presented in the 1997 film. But the authors from Friv5Online Industries decided to focus on conveying the feelings that the characters in the film experienced.
STRENGTH IN UNITY
In general, cooperative shooters have long and firmly established themselves in the market. Every modern player knows such projects as Back 4 Blood, Darktide, Deep Rock Galactic, Warhammer: Vermintide 2 and many others.
There is only one big "BUT". While most of these projects allow players to overcome difficulties with up to four players, Starship Troopers: Extermination brings together as many as 16 players on one map.
This figure may not seem so big exactly until the moment you see the implementation of the idea in practice. Each match in the cool game is a natural meat grinder with incessant shots, endless cries of characters about reloading weapons and, of course, bugs flying in all directions.
In fact, it is truly difficult to convey in words the fullness of the sensations from the teamwork of the players. This is especially evident during the defense of the base from a horde of enemies or at the stage of evacuation. At this time, those who have already reached their goal are doing their best to cover their lagging behind comrades with fire so that they can get to the place. It looks as spectacular as it causes dips in game performance on any PC. But, to be honest, when you see this, then each time you sincerely believe that it is worth it.
WHAT CONTENT IS AVAILABLE NOW?
Don't forget that Starship Troopers: Extermination is in early access. The authors honestly warn about this at launch. So, you definitely shouldn't be critical of this circumstance. After all, apparently, the project is waiting for a great and eventful future.
Now players have access to one map in daytime and nighttime versions. It is an abandoned Federation outpost on a desert planet. Here you can try your hand at two modes.
Conventionally, they can be divided into two types:
In a short blitz mission, all players do one specific task together, progressing through the map in stages and generally sticking together. This mode looks the most spectacular and is often able to give truly cinematic shots.
In the second mode, various secondary tasks periodically appear throughout the map, which players perform, dividing into small groups. In this mode, coordination and communication are important. After all, it is the separation of priorities and mutual assistance in different parts of the map that is the key to success. Therefore, ideally, it is better to collect reliable friends for this mode.
In both modes, the squad system helps to coordinate, which is made in the manner of the one that is presented in some cool games of the Battlefield series. True, in Starship Troopers: Extermination there is no unit commander capable of giving orders on the map, which, at times, is severely lacking for a team game with random people.
A similar problem can be attributed to the absence of a commander for the entire session. And if he could call in strikes from orbit or drop supplies, then in some moments this could save difficult situations. Perhaps some of this will be implemented later, or perhaps the authors consider such mechanics to be overcomplicated.
Separately, it is worth noting that for each squad at the end of the mission, there is a calculation of efficiency points based on each player. With a stretch, we can say about the presence of a certain competitive element among the "squads".
At the same time, three classes are now available to players to choose from.
Their list looks like this:
For each of the classes, a pumping system is presented. It includes both new weapon variants and perks. Perks are able to enhance certain aspects of the character. And at the moment they do not bear negative effects. Much of the progress bar is now marked as "in development". So it remains only to guess what awaits the players in the future. At the same time, no cosmetic character customization has been implemented at the moment.
Separately, it is worth noting the base building system, which is involved in both cool game modes. Overall, it strongly resembles both Fortnite and any survival game you know. Players place blanks on the map from the objects available to them, such as walls, bunkers, towers, or automatic turrets. After that, comrades can speed up their construction by joining the work. Moreover, it is worth remembering that buildings are purchased for resources that players need to not only get, but also deliver to the base.
Each mission ends with an evacuation. At this point, the players must collectively reach the transport waiting for them. At the same time, having only one life left at this time, since the possibility of respawning is simply taken away. Nevertheless, the players often help each other to achieve the desired goal. They raise the wounded (even without respawning, a ally can still be helped), cover such attempts with fire, and generally try not to behave selfishly. All this gives an indescribable atmosphere of military fraternity. What not all cooperative games can boast of.
If we talk about enemies, then beetles are represented by only a few basic species. At the moment, their sizes mostly range from small to slightly above average. The famous huge “Tank” is not yet in the cool game. However, like flying nasty analogues of dragonflies, who drank a lot of blood to the heroes of the film. But you can be almost sure that their implementation by the authors of the game will not be long in coming.
Thus, Starship Troopers: Extermination clearly cannot boast of an abundance of content in early access. But to scold the game for this now is not worth it. The main thing to understand is that if you play the current version a lot and often, then sooner or later the gameplay will start to get boring.
OTHER ASPECTS
The graphics of the game lack the stars from the sky. It looks quite natural, especially for such a setting. The color scheme does not give off acidity or fashionable bright cartoonishness, and in the heat of battle, enemies are quite distinguishable among the objects of the environment.
At the same time, there are enough small details on the map and it is clear that it was made with great trepidation and respect for the original source. There are also destroyed buildings, and the remaining mini-scenes of battles that have already taken place here, and many other pleasant little things.
Special attention in the cool game is given to weapons. And this is not surprising, because the project is being developed by the authors of Squad. And that is why every interaction with him, whether it is reloading or firing, causes sincere pleasure. Add to this the realistic swaying of the sight, the impact of explosions and the chaos taking place around you on the accuracy of your character, and the emotions from the battles become even more vivid.
The sound also does not lag behind in terms of quality of performance and its importance for immersion. Particularly pleased that the game does not have pre-recorded background shots or explosions that are played in isolation from what is happening in the cool game. If the battle is going on a couple of kilometers away from you, its sounds can still be heard and, focusing on them, rush to help the allies.
The user interface at the current stage of development of the game can hardly be called ideal. There are many stubs in various menus, which, however, are not very striking. But in the matches themselves, translucent icons with nicknames of allies raise questions for many people, because in order to identify the player next to you, you need to look at the screen with special zeal.
Separately, it is worth noting some inconveniences such as the inability to change class, weapons or perks in a match. It is clear why the authors did just that, but sometimes there is a lack of opportunity, returning to the base, to adjust to the situation.
It makes no sense to mention bugs and optimization now at all. Suffice it to say that there are problems with both the first and the second. True, nothing critical interferes with the enjoyment of the gameplay.
CONCLUSIONS
We know a lot of cool games based on films or their universes. And Starship Troopers: Extermination definitely has an idea at the concept level that is much more interesting than similar projects of the past and present. It will clearly not be a big breakthrough and will not cause hype for millions of players. But that doesn't take away from her.
And the main thing here, perhaps, is the ability, being practically in the status of a conceptual demo, to give players vivid emotions. This happens when you shoot a horde of bugs from the wall with the whole team. And when they scatter around the area with their insides, and you understand that around you are the same simple warriors, armed with the iconic Morita MK1 rifle.
The authors of the cool game took a fairly high bar at the start. But whether they can keep it, only time will tell. But, in any case, I would like to say a huge thank you to them both for the fresh cooperative experience and for one of the most authentic transfers of the reality of films into an interactive form.