With lockdown still lingering in the UK, you could say that this reviewer has plenty of time on his hands. Even though it might feel like it all doom and gloom at least it isn’t the apocalypse, though that isn’t the case with the latest game I got my hands on. This game is still in the early days of development so I am testing the water if you will, to see whether it could be the next hidden gem. This game is called Deadside and is an open-world shooter that I stumbled across one day while scrolling through Steam. It ticked all the right boxes for me: Survival game, Multiplayer and open world. Not only this but the trailer looked awesome and had me hooked and wanting to play. This little preview will cover my time playing the game solo, with a friend and with the online community that is currently playing.
For those wondering, Deadside is a hardcore multiplayer shooter set in an open world environment. Its grim setting of a post-apocalyptic world aims to give the player a realistic dynamic shooter with a hardcore survival mechanic that will test the most advanced gamers. You’ll have to survive against NPC enemies, real players while also making sure to stay feed and keeping hydrated. You will loot, build, craft and do whatever it takes to survive.
Mechanically there is quite a bit going on but it isn’t too advance which is awesome. I played mostly on official servers during this preview and found that straight from the get-go that Deadside is a grind. Like most survival games gathering materials and resources to be able to craft things and build is a ball ache when playing official servers, there is an option to rent servers so you might be able to modify the loot and gathering but not too sure. However, I did feel that it wasn’t ridiculous it was a happy medium of looting. Your character starts with nothing and you spawn in a random location, from there your journey begins and you have to find weapons, food, drinks and a load of other things to help you survive this harsh world. The weapons are really good and I love that they have attachments, you can find and get attachments to most weapons to make you more ready for what Deadside throws at you.
Character customization is lacking and I would like the option to make my character more personalised. Though it is nice while playing to buy or find clothes to make your character more unique so that’s a plus I suppose. One thing I found annoying in the early game was storage, you couldn’t carry much and if you found good loot you’d be annoyed because you wouldn’t be able to carry it all. Once you build a base you can build storage which is a big help, on top of this different clothing gives you inventory slots and you can get backpacks that allow you to carry a lot more stuff. it’s just trying to grind through till you get to that point.
You come across safe zones on the map that has traders in and they allow you to spend money you find or selling stuff you have looted to make money. These are very useful and you’ll find that most real players are in these areas or at their bases they have built, it’s kind of like a community hub. While in the safe zone you can’t use weapons so you are safe from the real players but the minute you leave it is all-out war unless of course, you both let each other live.
There is always something going on in the game world which is fantastic as it keeps you on your toes. From little events to missions, if you feel up to it you can give them a go but be warned that other player can also go for these and that could make things a little bit harder. NPC are scattered throughout the world and will mostly attack you on-sight which can get very annoying. NPC never seem to give you a break they are relentless and sometimes feel endless, like wave after wave of programmed horror. They drop goodish loot and early game if you can kill a few NPCs you are set with basic starting load-outs. However, they will chase you and pursue you to no ends which is funny but stupid.
The one thing that bugs me the most about Deadside is the reloading on weapons, it’s broken and doesn’t always work. While in combat not being able to reload then dying and losing everything is so heart-breaking and has happened to me so many times while playing I’m surprised, I go back to it. It’s just lucky that the game makes up for it with other elements of its gameplay. Don’t get me wrong it does work sometimes just not all the time… for me, it is always when I need it the most. Upon dying you lose your loot and have to start over, this is the importance of travelling light or making sure you are equipped for the worse case scenarios. When you have your base, you can store stuff inside which is cool and allows for you to horde things and progress.
Crafting is a nice feature and the building is simple it just takes a while to gather the resources you need to get going with everything. Personally, this game shines when playing with others and should be played with friends and not on your own. This way you will get the most out of Deadside and you will have a blast. Finding real players on the server is easy as you can just chat to the server via the text or voice chat system but if you have been trying to load into a server with friends it can be annoying, even more so if it is the first time and you haven’t got a base or are together. Walking ever makes it like a big game of hide and seek with each other. The small area that you can play in at the moment is huge and does take some time to get from one location to the other so be prepared for a lot of hiking. It would be the perfect time to load a motivational epic adventure playlist to help keep you motivated on your travels.
Graphically, Deadside is gorgeous and looks amazing on my PC. I run it at max settings and have not had any problems with lagging, rendering or crashing which is awesome. The level of detail that has gone into the game so far is awesome and if the devs can keep this up then they will be on to a winner. The audio is so clear and you can hear everything from footsteps, the wildlife and enemies NPC, using my Edifier G4 headphones helped me get lost in the world as I could hear everything so clearly and it was as if I was there. The guns sound so realistic and Bad Pixel do a good job at capturing their take on a Post-Apocalypse setting. A dog-eat-dog world.
Because Deadside is multiplayer and gives the player the chance of joining servers or renting their own the replay value is endless. It like Ark and Rust where the player can sink hours upon hours of gameplay into it and feel like there is always something going on and not even touch the surface. I enjoy more playing with people than solo as when you play on your own it feels more like a walking/loot simulator but when you play with others it just adds more enjoyment to the overall experience. Playing with my friend we got stuck in and enjoyed exploring and scavenging off NPC and looting building to eventually find somewhere where we could settle and start building our base. When he wasn’t online, I did manage to find some nice players who teamed up with me and we did some looting and missions. The online community at the minute is amazing as doesn’t seem toxic, however, this could quickly change and in all fairness, I only did play on like two or three servers. But for the most part, they are friendly and helpful.
Closing Statement
I have enjoyed my time playing Deadside and can highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good survival, Multiplayer and open-world game. If you have played games like The Forest and Rust then this is right up your street. It does come with the odd glitch and bug here and there but nothing too major. For a game that is in the early stages, it does feel really polished, Bad Pixel has done a fantastic job at taking the whole Post-Apocalyptic genre and putting their spin on it. The thing that I would say is amazing is that you can pick the game up currently on Steam for only £15.49. It feels like there is so much to do in the game and I feel like this isn’t even the full content that the full game will give the players. if ever there was a game to take the risk with and support I would 100% say Deadside has my vote. I will continue to play and watch this game grow and evolve. It is a fantastic gaming experience made better when playing with friends.
You can purchase Deadside on Steam here for £15.49
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