MeinMMO editor Niko played Cinder City at gamescom. The MMO shooter primarily focuses on tactical gameplay and a sci-fi setting. However, one element caught his interest, even though it’s hardly known in the genre.
What is Cinder City? Cinder City is an upcoming MMO shooter from the Korean studio BigFire Games (part of NCsoft), which, while it has sci-fi elements, still emphasizes realistic tactical gameplay. So you won’t find a significant focus on wild jumps or weapons with countless elements and exaggerated abilities.
From the first trailer, the gameplay appealed to me. It reminded me of the slow yet enjoyable player experience of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier or The Division. You can see 17 minutes of gameplay from our colleagues at GameStar.
The first areas of the demo played well, but mindless rushing in got me killed quickly. There were explosions, criminals like in Mad Max as enemies, and battles familiar from cover shooters. Then came a boss. He was rather unremarkable. It was a bulky guy in a metal suit who could jump back and forth thanks to a jetpack.
He had a rocket launcher, but you could defeat him relatively quickly with his own explosions. The boss was nothing special, but also not a damage sponge that you had to hit countless times.
After defeating the first boss, I moved on to the next area.
There I was greeted by an (apparently) abandoned hospital. Suddenly, the flashlight feature of the weapon became useful, and an uneasy feeling arose. A few steps further, out of nowhere, a monster grabbed a helpless NPC.
Suddenly, I felt like I was in Resident Evil. A feeling I never had in shooters like Destiny 2 or The First Descendant. Of course, I had to address these horror elements with the developers.
I felt right at home
Why was the hospital so different? I love survival horror games, especially Resident Evil. I can appreciate even the action-packed parts like 5 or 6. The hospital in the demo of Cinder City felt like I was back in my (horror) comfort zone.
My feeling was most similar to Leon’s campaign in Resident Evil 6. The dark hospital was full of monsters that were barely “humanoid,” and the flashlight created a gloomy atmosphere.
While I was the armed super-soldier with an explosive rocket shot, I had to orient myself and quickly plan which enemy to take down first in the rooms.
The corridors were narrow, and occasional “jump scares” refined the feeling that the people in this hospital were in danger. The tactical shooter gameplay fit perfectly with this, and the monsters provided an exciting contrast to the human enemies I had taken out with the sniper rifle in the previous area.
MMO shooters rarely have such levels due to their structure, and often the cooperative experience ensures that any hint of horror gets lost. But I really liked this. That’s why I asked the CEO of BigFire Games, James Bae, if “horror” would be a recurring element in his new shooter. His response is quite positive for me:
I also love horror elements, both in films and in games. I think this will be a recurring concept that will be present in our game – in all parts of our game, not just in the demo.
Outside, it will likely be bright, but dominated by gang members. But indoors, underground, or in the subways, we will have various locations that are hidden. And in these, there will be creatures like you saw in the demo, and in our final product, there will be even more variety among the creatures. So we tend to continue to incorporate horror elements.
CEO of BigFire Games, James Bae, on horror elements in Cinder City
How is the game in the demo overall? Basically, shooting and surviving felt good. The good hit feedback and atmospheric sound were enjoyable, and I found the level design intriguing – especially the developers’ native view of a destroyed Seoul.
But even though I will continue to keep an eye on the game thanks to the horror elements, there is still skepticism.
As a free MMO shooter, grinding and activities will be an important factor. Although James Bae assured me that most content should be accessible to solo players, the demo was a linear quest, so I wonder how the open world and other content will play.
I’m also concerned about the monetization. During a presentation, we were shown cosmetic skins, but the status of other purchasable content is still unclear. An unfriendly free-to-play structure would undermine the fun of the game. However, if these conditions hold, I am confident that I will enjoy Cinder City upon release.
When is the game supposed to be released? The MMO shooter is set to release in 2026, and despite the skepticism, I remain curious, as the first demo showed many elements that could be enjoyable for me in the long run. Another shooter is currently facing accusations: “They stole my face” – Loot shooter allegedly fakes clips of streamers to make it look like they promote the game
