Synced, the new loot shooter launched its free open beta on Steam on December 10. Initially, it flew under the radar, but it is now exciting fans of Division and Destiny 2. We tried out the game and show what to expect as a runner in a sci-fi post-apocalypse.
What kind of game is this? The new loot shooter Synced could best be called the first AAA roguelite. You can expect hordes of enemies in PvE as well as extractions in PvP.
But Synced does not stick to the classic zombie concept. In the match-based shooter, you rather shoot at futuristic nano-machines. These have gone rogue and have now become wild, predatory creatures wanting to get at you in the world of Meridian. They share a similarity with zombies in that they use dead humans to reproduce.
At first glance, the game already meets several of my must-haves for shooter criteria:
- The story about a sci-fi post-apocalypse and the characters’ stories sound like a futuristic version of The Walking Dead.
- It is not a single-player game. I can blast through hordes of enemies with my friends. However, there is also a player search.
- Plenty of items to loot and, of course, weapons to find and upgrade with scopes, magazines, and more.
- As you rank up, you get new weapons. Using them further improves them.
- Futuristic abilities allow you to further define and push your own character.
- The biggest plus of Synced is, however, the “Primes,” which will become my nano-buddies in the game.
At the beginning of December, our MeinMMO author Maik Schneider raided the servers for a few hours and enjoyed the gameplay.
And for my team and me, these were enough reasons to give the free-to-play loot shooter Synced a chance during its open beta. There are elements for both The Division 2 and Destiny 2 fans that they might enjoy.
Check out the trailer for a glimpse into the world of Synced. With this, NExT, the newest studio within the Tencent Games family, aims to win over Western shooter fans.
The tutorial is already impressive: When the introduction mission starts, I am surprised by the first impression. Visually, Synced in its open beta looks quite solid, stable, and is certainly impressive.
As I continue, the first enemies appear. Here we are dealing with the mostly harmless “wild” Legions-Nanos. I’m increasingly enjoying the first shots from my weapon in third-person perspective. So, I first blast away everything that comes at me.
Once the small group is cleared, follow the path while completing the usual jumping and sliding sections to find yourself standing in front of one of the larger nano-primes. They have weak points that you need to shoot at.
Nano-Primes are enemies and the strongest ability at the same time
Nano-assimilation is a must in Synced: If such a Prime dies, you’ve initially gotten rid of one more threat. However, this also opens up the option to synchronize with this dead nano-prime. Thus, the enemy becomes your best buddy through assimilation and simultaneously the strongest player ability in Synced.
- Once assimilated, I can strategically and meaningfully unleash my selected nano-buddy on the enemies as an active fighter.
- Or I can carry him in a passive state on my arm, where he, for example, increases the strength of my melee attacks.
With this knowledge, I am sent to Haven, the social hub in the Synced shooter. There, I interact with various NPCs and discover that I can switch both my character and my nano-buddies.
I can choose between these 4 nano-companions:
- Crusher: Unmatched in melee combat
- Suppressor: Uses a cannon for ranged attacks
- Guardian: Transforms into a shield to protect his runner
- Seer: His sensors detect enemies and track them
It is certainly not out of the question that more will be added.
You cannot create an individual character in Synced. However, you have the choice between several “pre-made” heroes.
These 5 characters I have discovered in the game so far:
- Deadcut: The cool gamer type for rough play. Uses explosive grenades and sets enemies on fire.
- Glory: She is young but also very clever and poisons enemies with smoke grenades.
- Dr. Stone: His name is his program. If he is part of the team, the team benefits from his healing abilities, as he can revive within a certain radius.
- Ragna: She can recognize enemies through walls with her “glowing eye” ability and drain health from nanos.
- Park: His bracelet grants him a bomb, the impacts of which can chain with multiple enemies.
I initially decide on Glory and Crusher. With the two, I want to start my first real mission in a 3-man team. Later, I will choose Ragna.
PvP or PvE? – You have the choice: Now I just need to decide how I want to look for the lucrative blue “Nerva.” Nerva is after all the most valuable substance from nano-energy that drives my sci-fi civilization in this future of Synced. You can switch between PvP (red) or PvE mode (blue) as you like. Depending on the mode, you can also set up your own setup for it.
- In PvP at the “death zone runs,” a fat commission from the so-called refuge awaits you. The team with the most Nerva wins. Alternatively, you can secure victory by eliminating the entire opposing team.
- In PvE at the “Nerva run,” your goal is to keep the waves of nanos in check and forge a path to the awakener. After all, you don’t want him to send humanity into doom with a horde of nano-killers.
- The squads you start with always consist of three players. There is no solo mode.
If you want to play with friends, you first need to add them. This works perfectly through the menu. I found it a bit disappointing that I couldn’t see my teammates in the social hub. Only when the lead starts a mission do they join.
Until January 15, 2023, Synced is still accessible in open beta. Registration is done via Steam and is quite simple. Visit the Steam store page of Synced and request your access there. This should be granted directly after the request. Once that happens, you just need to install the game. At the time of this review, it was 32 GB on PC.
Protocol of the first mission: We first decide on PvE. When the team leader starts the mission, your deployment team is flown by a shuttle to the mission area.
The location here is very similar to the starting area. There are again a few houses, green meadows, trees, and here and there a building to explore. In between, you will find the purple tornadoes of the enemy nanos – our targets.
The first enemies are already storming towards us and are easily blasted away. But as a loot shooter player, you can’t help but check corners and buildings in between to see what there might be to find. The problem is: Time in Synced is against you. While we leisurely mowed through the hordes of enemies, cleared a tornado here and there, hacked doors, and searched halls, the mission became increasingly difficult with every second that passed.
On the map, mod changers are distributed where you can buy and apply mods during the mission. The “Nerva credits” you need for that come from kills via resources dropped by enemies. The mods themselves become more expensive the further you progress. The former are temporary. However, you can also find permanent improvements in the matches, for example during events.
Our first mission failed when the nanos gained the upper hand, and no one could revive anymore. At this point, I regretted that I hadn’t purchased the regeneration ability from the mod offers. But the explosions were just too beautiful. So everyone went back to the base for another attempt.
This is how missions run in PvP: In PvP, you are also in a 3-man team, which, however, must compete against 3 other 3-man teams. The nanos are still mixed in. However, the bigger threat is the other players. Like you, they want to get to the automated harvesting drones to extract the Nerva from there first. Your task is simple: either be faster or efficiently eliminate each team.
My conclusion on the shooter Synced
The loot shooter has definitely surprised me positively. Good graphics, precise movements, and fast gunplay already scored points with me. Although the individual areas were not as diverse as I had hoped. However, this could change at release.
Nanos bring fresh air into the shooter: The idea with the nanos is successful. It does not reinvent the tried-and-true shooter recipe but brings a certain finesse to the gameplay. Still, there were times when my nano-companion blocked my view of the enemies, thus reducing the pleasure of clearing them away myself. However, this changed somewhat when the fights became tougher, and I was glad that he stood right in front of me at the right moment. Moreover, ultimately, it is always my decision whether I use him or call him back.
How does Synced compare to other shooters? Even if the gunplay is relatively solid, one is still demanded more by other shooters. When handling weapons, I had the impression that some enemies’ hitboxes in Synced are still a bit too large. In my opinion, a bit more challenge and precision could be required from me.
At least in a lighter version, much can be done with weapons and attachments, where Division 2 fans might particularly find themselves. Although you cannot take cover in Synced.
Destiny 2 players will probably only have temporary fun with Synced. Due to the third-person perspective, this shooter, like The Final Descendant, will likely not fall into a guardian’s preferred gunplay feeling. Discovery and secrets also play less of a role – things have to go quickly, and there is no open world where you can move freely.
Also, the characters in Synced are too monotonous for me. Something that is very important to many players in Destiny 2 – the appearance – gets little attention. The cosmetics hardly make up for this. I simply think that the different heroes with fixed roles and faces hurt individuality. This, in turn, makes it harder for me to identify with my own character and makes the glory wall with the PvP leaderboards in the social hub look strange.
Is the free shooter worth a recommendation? Yes, despite my criticisms, I would recommend you to take a detour to Meridian in Synced. Since the new loot shooter is free, you can’t go wrong and can scavenge some Nerva in a few quick rounds with your nano-buddy and friends or other players. But that’s all there is to it at this point. Synced won’t be able to dethrone the shooter giants, as often predicted.
If you still engage with it, we look forward to your opinion on the new loot shooter in the comments. Feel free to share which character and nano-buddy combo you have chosen as your favorite and whether you like the hero role system or not.
Recently, we also took a look at another new free-to-play shooter:
New shooter “The First Descendant” launches on Steam – Plays like a Korean Outriders
