Die After Sunset, we tried Fortnite-inspired roguelite
Die After Sunset
We have repeatedly talked about how Fortnite has made school, laying the foundations for a trend, that of Battle Royale, which has exploded in recent years and has now reached saturation. Anyone with capital has tried to eat a small slice of cake and many, as always happens in this case with less fresh ideas, have failed miserably, not even collecting the crumbs and then having to close their doors. Someone, however, tries again and tries to copy the model, in the hope of having the winning idea capable of overturning the order of things.With the players now full, it is now even difficult to think of a successful product that takes its cue even only from the visual imagery of Fortnite and if this the triple A now seem to have understood and paid for it on their own skin, between independent studios no shortage of crazy visionaries. This is the case of Playstark which with its Die After Sunset retraces the path of the Epic Games blockbuster starting however from the origins and arriving on Steam with a timed trial version focused on the single player mode.
After a Die After Sunset test we're ready to tell you what we think.
From fortnite to Returnal it's a short step
The colorful style of Die After Sunset Before becoming a battle royale Fortnite was about to fail, to close its doors, to send for a walk a development team unable to break through with a survival title with good ideas, but with little appeal. It would therefore be anachronistic to try to arrive today with a version strongly inspired by the Save the World mode hoping that something can change, but Playstark wants to try it anyway. Instead of simply refreshing the formula, the studio tries to draw inspiration from the most recent roguelites to give life to a title that is at least particular, even if not exactly innovative.Die After Sunset therefore sees us grappling with a monstrous invasion, with these small, but diabolical creatures called Murkor, determined to devour and tear our universe to pieces. On their way our protagonists, rather anonymous characters but ready to become the new heroes of the galaxy, eradicating the threat. To do this they will have to throw themselves into the fray, take some risks, die and repeat everything until their task can be said to be completed.
Yes, we know, the plot is not exactly one of the most brilliant of the last decade, but what matters in this type of experience, as we always tell you, is the gameplay. Which should be rewarding enough to push you to play game after game without ever getting bored. BPM does it very well, Returnal does it on PlayStation 5, as well as dozens of other titles with the most disparate production values: why should Die After Sunset not do it?
Let's say that there can be several reasons, this time, first of all a reduced-to-the-bone gunplay that could show a poor depth after only a few hours of play, most likely attributable to a version of extremely meager test in terms of content.
Of the three characters present, only April can be used and armed with her pistol with a double shot, a single shot and a violent close burst, and she will force you to give your your skill to complete the first level. The first game runs smoothly and smoothly, and despite the tutorial being in the form of mundane slides, the game mechanics are so simple that it is completely superfluous. You will generally have to move around the map killing enemies, collecting fragments of light so as to upgrade and become strong enough before time runs out to be able to kill the final Murkraken.
Conceptually the title is all here, with the light that can be spent to open the procedurally generated chests and obtain passive upgrades thanks to which they become more resistant or generate more damage. To give you support also a whole series of events, still in a rather limited number, with specific objectives, ready instead to reward you with extra statistics or gadgets and more powerful weapons. It is a continuous cycle, in search of the best setup at a frenetic pace so as not to be unprepared for the final fight, which pushes you to be faced, however, only a limited number of times before you feel satisfied with what you have seen and want to move on to more.
Upgrades and progress will be enough?
Extra talents and skills are the reason to keep playing classic progression system, with talents and new weapons that can be unlocked by collecting special Murkor jellies, a currency like any other to throw you into the whirlwind of collecting. Some passives to unlock, however, are interesting and the gadgets designed to increase mobility by making the game action much more fluid, a little bit however if we look at the big picture.The only mechanic a little deeper and more interesting is in fact the management of light and darkness, with the Murkors that will be strengthened if they are in the shade, creating situations in which always try to play with the sun behind you to catch them with your guard down. In the shade, the Murkors transform, lose their plump and cuddly appearance and become black monsters with increased damage and resistances, a situation to be avoided in order not to lose precious seconds. The game, however, is really all here and if the idea is not one of the most original, the difference will certainly be the price and the quantity of content at launch, two crucial elements to be able to give Die After Sunset at least a chance to win.
Die After Sunset absorbs from the Fortnite imaginary and tries to insert roguelite elements to ride two great trends of the current video game market. The result, at least of this very first early access, is excessively derivative and lacking in particularly original ideas, essential to stand out above the rest of the competition. Technically we are talking about a solid title capable of giving us back a few carefree hours, but the worries all arise thinking about how much this fun can last in the face of such elementary mechanics. A taste that leaves several question marks, the answers to which will arrive as we get closer to the release date, not yet announced.
