The Anacrusis

The four-way cooperative shooter format has been a popular one for decades now. With various shooter IPs offering an abundance of multiplayer options for teams to invest their time in and take on PvE enemies. We have seen cel-shaded shooters, zombie apocalypse shooters and a variety of other great multiplayer romps. However, The Anacrusis aims to be the next big thing, offering a sci-fi adventure that sets itself apart from the rest.

This game plays like other co-op shooters such as Borderlands, Back 4 Blood, Left 4 Dead, Splitgate, Call of Duty and Apex Legends. This game offers a campaign that tries its hardest to keep things entertaining from start to finish. However, is this a non-stop thriller, or a poor showing overall? We find out in our review of The Anacrusis.

Fight The Alien Horde

Firstly, let’s talk about the central premise. This is a game that is driven by an AI driver, much like L4D and B4B. This means that the smart AI will control how the campaigns unfold, how the enemies attack and swarm, and this will mean that communication between players must be top-notch. This is something that has undoubtedly been done better and with more complexity in other titles but it is a welcome addition to this title.

Then as for the gameplay itself, its rather bare bones, to be honest, the gunplay is generic, the tactical options are limited and the characters are cookie cutter. However, the only saving grace is that this game includes perks and powerups much like B4B, making this game into a rogue like game of sorts. This was a good feature but intimately, the overall gameplay was a little dull.

This means that the game lives and dies on its story, campaigns and visuals. The visuals are quite strong, especially in relation to the environments and setting. However, the story is just as bare bones and generic as the gameplay and while the campaigns to offer new areas which provide a little eye candy, everything just blends together making the whole procedure very monotonous.

The Verdict

Overall, The Anacrusis feels like a great concept that has been executed poorly. The core premise, the visuals, the environments and the roguelike format are all great. However, in amongst the dull story and lack lustre gameplay, it all feels very underwhelming and ruins all the good work that the more positive features do.

Pros:

• Great visuals and environments
• Fun roguelike features

Cons:

• The gameplay is tactically shallow and dull
• The story is bare-bones
• Campaigns blur into one monotonous experience