The Day Before, preview: an interesting survival that smacks of already seen?
The Day Before, preview
2021 is not an easy year for the gaming world. AAA productions suffer from cross references, but there is another category ready to satisfy the needs of the public: independent titles. At the beginning of the year the world was shaken by that earthquake called Valheim, and now a new survival game could be ready to attract the attention of players: let's talk about The Day Before. Let's see everything we know about Fntastic's work.The day before…
The Day Before: the inspiration is clear Let's start from the basics. The Day Before is an open world survival MMO. Our protagonist will awaken with no memories in a post-pandemic America where zombie-like infected roam in search of human flesh and survivors fight each other for supremacy. The goal is obviously to stay alive, gather resources and explore a (we don't know how much) large interactive world.Nothing new on paper, and even after a quick glance at one of the gameplay footage available, it is impossible not to perceive a strong sensation of already seen. Precisely, the work is inspired by The Division: voluntary or not, Fntastic owes a lot to the imagery created by the French company and certainly has not tried to hide it. For example, The Day Before is also set in the Christmas season.
One big difference could be related to the narrative component, and we don't necessarily mean it in a positive way. The Day Before, for now, seems to suggest that the game world has its own story, but it could easily be a "lore" rather than a real plot to carry on from mission to mission. We cannot say for sure, but the vagueness of the development team does not lead us to believe that the narrative component is one of the pillars of the adventure, unlike the Ubisoft title.
The Day Before: the zombies The America of The Day Before, however, still seems to have something to say. The longest presentation film available today opens with the speech of an unknown man, who through a radio broadcast explains to us how the pre-apocalyptic world has distracted people and prevented them from realizing their potential and their dreams, but above all he mentions a triggering event that led the world towards destruction. In the same video we had the opportunity to see some interesting elements, such as "I have been vaccinated" signs, which suggest that the world has tried to fight a disease but that something has not gone the right way.
Survival at all costs
The Day Before: four-wheeled vehicles will be fundamental However, let's put aside the narrative, which may not be a priority for many players. Instead, let's talk about the gameplay of which we could see much more. The Day Before is built around an extremely classic third-person shooter structure. Our character will be able to explore the game world on foot or by some means.The four wheels will be our trusted companions: even if we have not yet had the opportunity to see a map, the impression is that The Day Before propose large enough areas; in other words, walking always doesn't seem like an option. Moving in rural areas, in particular, could be more interesting than expected thanks to various types of land: in fact, we have the opportunity to see that the vehicles pass through muddy areas, which slow down their movement. What would happen if zombies or other survivors were hunting us? As you can guess, different types of terrain could open up different play strategies, in which escape is perhaps not an option. For now, however, we do not know how relevant this element will be.
The firefights, on the other hand, do not offer any particular surprises. We know that The Day Before aims to offer "realistic weapons", so don't expect guns with elemental effects or altered status. We will have classic guns and rifles in our hands, to take down the threats in front of us: for the moment, moreover, we have some doubts about the feeling of the weapons, especially as regards the impact of the bullets on the enemies and the sound effects.
The Day Before: pay attention to the weather conditions The gameplay footage does not yet show the possibility of performing hand-to-hand clashes or stealthily eliminating opponents. Guns and throwing weapons (such as Molotov cocktails or homemade bombs) seem the only possible solutions and this obviously has a price: every noise attracts zombies. The number of creatures seems to be limited, it must be said, but inside there is the possibility of getting stuck and being submerged by a group of enemies.
Skill with weapons will be important, but we must not forget that we speak of a survival game, which will test us in other ways as well. For example, during the exploration we will have to hydrate regularly, but also pay attention to the body temperature, which will also be affected by the weather conditions and the night-day cycle: being caught outside by a snow storm in the middle of the night is never a good idea.
Our vehicle will also need to be taken care of. First of all, it will be important to regularly find gasoline to allow it to move, but it will be essential not to damage it too much, both in exploration and during combat. If not, however, we can use the resources found in the environment to create a repair kit and restore our four-wheeler to its original splendor. Like any MMO, we will be able to play in a group: each member can decide to use their own personal vehicle or they can decide to all get on one.
The game world appears quite alive, with human NPCs patrolling the areas and try to put a spoke in the wheel. Some of them could also credibly react to the game world and our actions: for example, in a video we could see that while exploring the players came across an abandoned house in the middle of a farm. Inside there is an alarm: by interacting it is possible to see that some keys are worn out and therefore you have the opportunity to guess the combination. Failing, the alarm is triggered which quickly draws the attention of other humans (as well as zombies, of course). There will then be closed places, such as a bunker, which can only be accessed if the magnetic key is nearby. The Day Before could therefore entice the player to explore carefully by proposing a lively and credible way.
Exploration, with its own risks / benefits, however, will not be the only component of the game. Between missions, we will have the opportunity to retire to the Woodberry Survivor Colony, a safe area in which we will find other players and the classic merchants where it will be possible to sell and buy weapons and items. This area will also be the center of a series of events during the holidays which will aim to "bring players closer and allow them to spend some time together celebrating the holidays. There will be places to rest and cook even in the wild world. so we won't have to go back to the colony every time, but clearly that safe zone will be the most important.
The Day Before: there will be no shortage of safe places to camp Also, the colony will not be a static place. to expand it and thus obtain additional benefits. At the moment it is not clear what modes the developers have chosen, but it seems that the source of inspiration is Animal Crossing more than other MMOs. What exactly it means, is not known for now.
The Day Before, for the moment, can be described in a few words: derivative but solid. Fntastic, based on what has been shown to date, has not been able to give its title a unique style or, of course, but what is shown is of quality. Even on a technical level, the game looks promising, especially considering that it is a semi-independent production. The mix of shooter, survival, exploration and co-op may be what many are looking for. As always, only after an extensive test will it be possible to understand if, mouse in hand, The Day Before is really fun to play and if the contents are enough to keep us entertained for hours and hours.
