The boon for PvPvE first-person shooters is a delightful thing to see right now, and games like Marauders provide the sauce.
I’m not always that enthusiastic about deeply complex setups for online games, but some just scratch a certain itch that negates this issue. Again, Marauders does the trick. It’s a blend of a survival game and a first-person shooter that keeps the stakes of its world high.
In the world of Marauders it’s the 1990s, but on an alternate diesel-punk path where Earth has been industrialized to breaking point, and few options remain. So, as a solution, raiders known as Marauders are out to travel through space and salvage the cargo of drifting spaceships. You soon find this is no commercial job with insurance and healthcare, because as with games such as Hunt: Showdown, other players are out to nab the same loot as you, and it’s very much last man standing takes it all…unless you take a coward’s route out, of course.
You can trade for new gear as raids get more dangerous.This can be achieved on your lonesome, or in a crew of up to three other wannabe space pirates, and it’s entirely feasible to play it both ways effectively, though it’s a lot more nerve-jangling on your own.
You need to scrape for every scrap during a match in order to gain the tools, upgrades, and weaponry that can help you survive until the end. Each ship is filled with all sorts of loot, and the idea is to make off with as much of it as possible and then head back to your specific landing dock in order to board your ship. If for some reason it’s not possible to get back to your ship, or a teammate owns the vessel you came in on, there are escape pods to get jettisoned from and reach the warp gate exfiltration point.
While the meat of Marauders is the first-person fracas, there’s a side order of space traversal and combat that is deep enough to allow for different ship types to suit your needs. It’s entirely feasible that you could get a quick ship to zoom ahead of competitors and gain a small advantage tactically aboard the salvage. Or you could get an armored monster to blow fleeing looters out of existence once they head for the exit.
Your ship is a vital cog in Marauder’s gameplayMarauders is already a game made for anecdotes. The complexity of its structure means it has moments born from individual actions that feel very much your own. They are the usual tales for the most part, with last-gasp escapes and freak-of-nature flashpoints, but the thing about those is that they can go so many ways.
There’s no doubt that this is still a work in progress given its Early Access nature. It can look a tad dour and come to a wheezing halt at times, but it reeks of ambition superseding polish, and I’m very much here for games that do that in Early Access because the polish can always come later, but ambition needs to be baked in from the off.
The hardcore, simulation style of Marauders will be a stern test of resolve, but when it lines up just right, it feels like a winner.
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