GTFO, the final version tested exclusively
GTFO
In the last couple of years, many have found multiplayer video games as an outlet and a good way to socialize. There are those who have visited the islands of complete strangers in Animal Crossing, those who have shared their creations made in Dreams or those who have finally launched themselves into the already populous Final Fantasy XIV servers after a long time. Ah, then there were also those who together with three other friends teamed up to survive hordes of gruesome monsters in the depths of an alien base.Even before its official release, GTFO survival multiplayer was a springboard for 10 Chambers. Returning to development expenses in just a couple of weeks after the game's Early Access launch, the Swedish developer was acquired by Tencent, has gone from just nine employees to 69 now, and can now think of even more ambitious projects for the post. -GTFO. "The arrival of Tencent has allowed us to hire specialized people, renovate our offices and organize workshops and events with the press, or new initiatives for our users," told us Oscar J-T Holm, co-founder of the company.
"We are still a small studio compared to other teams around the world, but it is critical for us to maintain our company culture as we expand. We try to keep a small but rich team of experienced developers and artists." .
After two years of early access on Steam, The Game Awards 2021 represented for Holm and 10 Chambers the ideal stage to announce urbi et orbi the release of version 1.0 of GTFO, but a few days before the he Los Angeles event we met the team in person to try out the new features of the final version and discuss the past, present and future of the game.
Balances and checkpoints
In GTFO you have to play stealthily and in a coordinated manner. Always Although the same developers have called their game a "Left 4 Dead mixed with Alien", a game of GTFO with three friends offers a very different feeling from the classic Valve multiplayer, or even from the more recent Back 4 Blood. The idea behind it is essentially the same: a group of four players must go through a series of levels overflowing with enemies, saving the ammunition and resources to survive in the most desperate moments. Yet, thanks to the extremely high level of challenge, the behavior of the enemies and the variety of gadgets available, in GTFO moving with caution, playing as a team and communicating with others is much more crucial than many other cooperative actions.The terminals scattered throughout the maps force you to constantly exchange information, some enemies require you to cross rooms in a stealthy and coordinated way, while the different equipment imposes a true team strategy: one in which you divide yourself roles, you store ammo and medkits for when a teammate needs them, and pause to carefully discuss a battle plan before setting foot in a room full of zombies or activating an alarm. At the start of each expedition, resources don't seem to be a problem, but at the middle of the level you desperately count your ammo, beg for resources from your companions, cross your fingers every time you find a locker to open. And above all, it moves slowly. Very slow. Using a sledgehammer to crumble an enemy and save a few hits.
GTFO Rule One: Turn that light off! The essence of GTFO can be summed up in the encounter with a Scout, a completely blind enemy, but able to stretch his tentacles across the room. If you touch even one of its extensions, the infamous is activated and explodes in a scream capable of attracting all the enemies scattered around the level. The only solution is therefore to move quietly, talk to your teammates and play stealthily. And how many times do I have to tell you to turn off the flashlight? Most of our attempts to continue from the depths of the base have failed miserably, despite the fact that we have two game developers on our team.
In short, GTFO is difficult, other than "hardcore", but to introduce and not demoralize the newcomers, 10 Chambers has worked hard to soften the very first level of each expedition. "It wasn't easy to make the start more accessible without making it trivial," says Holm. "The first expedition, A1, is certainly less traumatic and acts as a warm-up, but once completed you can decide whether to continue the descent in subsequent expeditions or whether to continue 'sideways' to try much more hardcore variants of each expedition".
The beginning of GTFO has been made more accessible, a checkpoint system has been added and ... no, the game hasn't gotten any easier In terms of accessibility, the biggest compromise introduced in version 1.0 of GTFO is undoubtedly about the checkpoint system. In the early access version of the game, once the whole team was defeated they were forced to restart the expedition from the beginning, while now they are given the possibility to restart from the last checkpoint reached. Doing so will end up getting a lower grade, and those who feel "hard and pure" will probably prefer not to use it, but for those who want to complete an expedition, but do not have the patience or the time to restart each time from the start of the level well ... definitely a welcome addition. Especially considering the difficulty level reached by the more advanced expeditions, where every single room requires careful study and, no doubt, several attempts.
New enemies and cosmetics
In GTFO, slow down the advance of enemies even for a few moments can make a difference Even after the release of the final version, GTFO will continue to be updated with new rundowns, sets of expeditions that for a limited period of time introduce new levels, but also enemies and mechanics never seen before. While trying to unmark a group of insistent Strikers, we found ourselves in a setting never seen before, attacked by flying enemies similar to the Sentinels of the Matrix. For two years the community has been clamoring for the introduction of creatures that can fly, without imagining what 10 Chambers would have prepared for the final version of the game: these new monsters dart over players' heads, hide behind rocks and will be the cause of many, too many wasted bullets.To escape from crowded and too dangerous situations, enthusiasts have begun to abuse those practices in jargon called "kiting" and "bunny hopping", techniques that allow to avoid the attacks of the artificial intelligence by moving in circles or jumping continuously. "Of course, seeing people bouncing left and right or going around in circles can ruin the atmosphere of the game," explains Holm, "and that's why with the GTFO update we've introduced a stamina system that should make it much more difficult to abuse. of the race ". Similarly, fall damage gives the impression of being a bit more severe, which discourages jumping without paying attention and generally leads to more grounding.
GTFO , one of the many enemies of the game: we challenge you to understand what the head is What, however, GTFO has been missing in the two years of early access has always been the sense of progression. Aside from great personal satisfaction and a (virtual) pat on the back, completing an expedition did not confer any kind of reward. The new version of the game instead adds a series of cosmetic items that can be obtained by playing and with which to customize the appearance of your avatar. From the helmet to the torso, from the backpack to the color palette, the impression is that these are the first steps in a system of awards that will expand over the next few months, also based on the response of the community.
Among the many small and medium-sized novelties of GTFO version 1.0 there is the possibility of playing in the company of bots controlled by artificial intelligence, a system richer in animations and voice commands, up to support for the Italian language for texts and menus. Also due to the numerous updates released during Early Access, the 10 Chambers game today is very different from what we first tried a few years ago, but for Holm and her team what matters is that the heart of the game is experience remains intact and recognizable. A philosophy that the Stockholm studio also wants to keep faith with for all its future projects. GTFO will be updated and enriched at least for the whole of 2022, and even if the team did not want us to anticipate anything about its next and inevitable project, the team's DNA and the work done so far are enough to make it one of the developers to watch for. the near future.
