If the tense, gritty, realistic battles of Escape from Tarkov and Arma aren’t enough to keep you on the edge of your seat any more, new sci-fi survival horror shooter The Forever Winter might be just what you need to get your pulse pounding. In the not-too-distant future, two warring military factions fight over a ruined Earth with giant Armored Core style mechs, and it’s all you and your friends can do to survive.
Developer Fun Dog Studios gives us a deeper look at the gameplay of The Forever Winter during the IGN Live showcase, and it’s certainly a harrowing world out there. As a scavenger, or Scav, you’re reduced to simply looting and surviving with your friends in the metal and dust hellscape that is 20XX Earth. The Forever Winter is as much a survival horror game as it is a tactical looter shooter, then.
Given the deadly nature of the world and the towering mechs with firepower that vastly outweighs your own, you’ll need to rely on your situational awareness and careful coordination with your fellow Scavs to stay alive. Fortunately, rather than the hostilities of most such games, this is instead a PvEvE environment – with you and your companions picking up the pieces as the two warring factions engage in ever more deadly conflict. Fire so much as a shot and you risk raising the ire of the giant, organ-scavenging motherbots.
Fortunately, that means you’re encouraged to help others out. You can meet up at community hubs to customize and improve your gear and skills between runs; veteran players can even help out lower-level Scavs by dropping off useful items at donation stations. As you get more powerful, however, you’ll find yourself under greater threat: find something of real value, and it won’t be long before you’re hunted by the militaries’ most dangerous mechs, which will require incredibly considered coordination and planning to bring down.
“The Forever Winter isn’t about being the biggest or the strongest; it’s about outsmarting your enemies and making the most of every resource you find,” creative director Miles Williams explains. Survival is your greatest achievement, because there are only three types of Scavs: the fast, the smart, and the dead.”
The Forever Winter is coming soon to Steam. You can wishlist it now to stay up to date with its development and when it becomes available. “I can’t wait for folks to get their hands on it, starting with early access very soon,” Williams says. “But getting the game out is just the beginning. We look forward to working closely with our community to refine and expand the game for as long as there’s love for dark futures.”
This article is part of PCGamesN’s coverage of IGN Live and Summer Game Fest 2024. We’ll keep bringing you everything on all the biggest and best upcoming PC games as it happens. In the meantime, have a look through the best co-op games in 2024 if you’re seeking something new to play with your friends.
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