Generation Zero

Take up arms against an army of killer robots invading a quiet Swedish town in Generation Zero. This first-person shooter with an awesome retro-futuristic vibe does many things right, resulting in a solid, impressively looking survival game that delivers fun in spades.

Generation Zero’s interesting setting and solid stealth mechanics will surely tempt players to explore its fascinating world. The game’s strong presentation and emphasis on multiplayer collaboration also make it one of the best games in its genre, even if you decide to play the game solo. Let’s see what this game does right – and what could use some major improvements.

Days of Future Past

Generation Zero takes place in a small town called Östertörn, in the Swedish countryside. Your character is a teenager who has just returned from an excursion, finding that his hometown lies in ruins amidst a robot invasion. The game’s only objective becomes clear: survive the robot uprising.

The plot might be simple, but the setting of Generation Zero certainly isn’t. Featuring an extensive area to explore and evade enemies in, there are tons of things to see in the game. Unfortunately, there’s very little to do other than avoiding and fighting robots, making the gameplay loop feel rather short and repetitive when compared with other stealth open-world games, like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

As an indie game, there are some unpolished areas here and there that could use some future improvements. An example of this is the excessive repetition of assets: most houses look identical inside, and some enemies are pretty much copy and pasted carelessly around the map.

Start the Resistance

While exploring the Swedish countryside, you’ll come across places to set up bases. These places will provide shelter to any survivor you happen across, and will also work as your main base of operations as you explore the game’s world.

Developers Avalanche Studios worked carefully on the gunplay, and it shows. Almost every weapon feels and behaves like its real-world counterparts, making every shot feel as powerful as it should. This is also aided by the game’s striking sound design: the mechanical sounds of the robots and the gunshots all sound amazingly good, especially in contrast with the quietness of the Swedish woods.

Also worth noting are the game’s beautiful graphics. As you loot your way through the wastes, you’ll catch glimpses of the beauty of the disaster thanks to Generation Zero’s impressive visual design. The enemy designs are also quite good – even if there are only six types of robots and four subtypes.

Rise of the Machines?

The more time you spend playing Generation Zero, the more you come to realize an inescapable truth: the robots here are pretty dumb. They try their best to hunt down players, but the game’s spotty AI work is often hilarious and rarely threatening. Even worse, the bigger robots just don’t seem to work all that well, constantly bugging and clipping with the terrain. Robots are massive bullet sponges that never pose too much of a threat to skilled players but might prove a small test for newcomers. However, in a game that’s based around the idea of surviving against killer robots, this is certainly a severe design flaw.

Pros:

• Amazing visuals
• Excellent sound design
• Extremely satisfying gunplay

Cons:

• Repetitive gameplay
• Hilariously bad AI
• Severe lack of variety