NIMRODS: Guncraft Survivor Demo Preview
Video game demos are fantastic. I am not going to go as far as saying that there is nothing wrong with demos because this is the internet and someone, somewhere will counter that argument with something unbelievably ridiculous but demos are great. Previews are like movie trailers in that they are cut and shown in a way to persuade you to make a decision. Demos though, allow you to go hands-on. We have all been burned before even with a demo available. It happens and you move on. The only real question is, how much should a demo show to the player? In a perfect world, developers would have time to make a demo that is completely independent of the actual game. No matter what is shown in said demo, there would be no spoilers, no nothing. Hell, you could make up characters and weapons and enemies. If it shows what the game truly is about, it would be perfect. You might be wondering right about now if I have a point or is this just an insane rant. I DO!
HOW IS THIS JUST THE DEMO?
The above gameplay was recorded about 20 or so minutes after I first launched the demo. 11 hours later and I am still playing this “demo.” The only difference between the above video and now is that I have unlocked all but one of the starting weapons and most of the attachments. Yes, I still have not unlocked everything. So, what is the issue? Well, with all due respect to Fiveamp, what will the main game offer up when it is released? Is there such a thing as too much content in a demo? Obviously, I am enjoying myself solely based on the time I have spent but I just have to wonder what comes with the paid version.
RANT OVER and on to the preview:
NIMRODS: Guncraft Survivor is a roguelike twin-stick survival shooter. You begin the game with just a pistol and have to see how long you can last the hordes of aliens bearing down on you. The more you kill, the more experience is earned. Every time you level up, you can augment your weapon. Options include shooting faster, adding magazine capacity, adding on a grenade launcher or flamethrower, having your gun shoot two bullets at a time instead of one, or increasing the bullet size, just to name a few. As you explore, you can find additional blueprints of parts. Once unlocked back at the base, they will be added to the pool of available upgrades. When you do die, and you will, your gun survives. Joining you on your runs will be your trusty drone who can be equipped with the weapon that was just built. As you improve upon your gun builds, you can replace your drone’s weapon to help you survive each run just a little longer. No run will ever be the same. You can pick a different base weapon every time but the upgrades are always randomized. How long can you last?
If this demo is only just a fraction of the content, this game could provide tens to hundreds of hours of enjoyment. The only content that I know of that is to come are the additional playable characters but I cannot imagine that this is the extent of the base weapons and augments to be had with the full game. I also imagine additional worlds will be available to explore. We will definitely be keeping an eye on this and hope to have updates soon. For now, go check out the demo on Steam.
