At E3 2019, the upcoming survival shooter Scavengers was only presented with a short trailer. But there is more to the game than meets the eye. We take a closer look and show you what makes Scavengers interesting. This is what we know so far about the title, which is set to release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
What is Scavengers? This is actually not so easy to answer. It is anything but simple to categorize this game from Midwinter Entertainment and the creators of Halo 5: Warzone.
At its core, Scavengers is a multiplayer co-op shooter that, alongside cooperative group dynamics, also incorporates competitive battles. However, the game combines many elements from other genres, making it difficult to specifically categorize. You will also find mechanics from Battle Royale, hero shooters, or survival games that shape the gameplay of Scavengers.
Why should you check out Scavengers? Some aspects of the game sound particularly unique and exciting. With this wide mix of various familiar genre elements, which result in a fresh and new overall experience, as well as a varied and thrilling dynamic, a truly unique experience could emerge that might bring fresh winds to several genres.
This way, co-op is mixed with competitive mechanics, creating a kind of “co-opetitive” gameplay. You play player vs. player, but also player vs. AI-controlled enemies. Among the human match participants, this often leads to a switch between fierce combat and forced collaboration.
This is the story of Scavengers
What is Scavengers about? Scavengers takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting. The moon broke into two parts due to a meteor impact, turning the world into a vast, frozen wasteland. How exactly this happened is unknown. Various dangers lurk such as zombies, mutants, or hostile looters – the Outriders.
You take on the role of the titular Scavengers. Teams of Scavengers scour the icy wasteland in search of organic DNA traces and other samples. These are meant to provide further insights into the remnants of humanity regarding how the aforementioned catastrophe occurred.
How the new PvEvP survival shooter Scavengers plays
The essentials in brief: In a match lasting approximately 30 – 45 minutes, up to 4 teams of 3 Scavengers each face off against zombies and the Outlanders – and possibly against each other as well. During the game, you gather gear, complete tasks, and must successfully extract from the area at the end.
This is what a typical Scavengers match involves: At the start, the team selects a character – each with different roles, weapons, and abilities. Here, it is important to maintain a good balance between offense, defense, and support. Then, you head out into the game world, which is randomly generated and looks different in each match.
There, more samples need to be gathered than the opposing teams. However, a match cannot be completed until all teams collectively find a certain number of samples.
Often, the samples can only be obtained in cooperation with other teams due to the overwhelming NPC enemies. You are thus forced to play both with and against the other human teams. It is not always advantageous to shoot at everything that moves. This is because the game is designed in such a way that in certain situations you cannot or can only hardly do without the others. At the same time, there are incentives to be better than other Scavenger teams.
But co-op is also heavily emphasized within your own team. As you blast your way through zombies and loot Outlander outposts, you must also gather resources and share them with each other. Temperature, radiation, hunger, health – all of this takes its toll on your characters and needs to be managed while playing.
The interface, compass, inventory, and menu navigation are all designed to strongly resemble Battle Royale – as are the massive storms on the map that can kill you if you do not escape them in time.
Once enough samples have been collected, the endgame of Scavengers begins. A transport ship then lands in a random area of the world. After some time, it will leave the zone again – whether you are on board or not. The goal is to escape from the planet while taking as many samples with you as possible.
You then face a choice. Will you stick to the fragile alliances you had to form during the game, or will you take advantage of a favorable moment to betray the opposing team and loot their haul?
What else is known about Scavengers?
What’s next for Scavengers? This is still not known. There is no exact release date. A release is only targeted for 2019/2020. The exact platforms are also not yet determined.
It will definitely be exciting to see how the game develops and whether Scavengers can establish itself as something unique in the market despite strong competition in all the genres it aims to cover. At its current stage, it sounds ambitious and promising, and could bring fresh winds to several genres.
Here you can watch the Scavengers trailer from E3 2019:
Also interesting: Scavengers relies on the innovative technology “SpatialOS.” From this, significant advancements in the design of online worlds are expected. With this technology, even relatively small teams should be able to create large virtual worlds.
What do you think of Scavengers? Are you interested in this unique mix of numerous genres?
