Sync: Extraterrestrial — Looter Shooter (Bingo!), a free multiplayer rogue-like real-time service — will launch into public beta on December 10th. Sherif and I were able to try out some PvE content from the early press conferences before the curtain was lifted for the public to see.
Returning from our adventures in the next long string of login reward-ridden gaming experiences, we sat down with Welsh actor and our own video producer, Jim Trinca, who interrogated us during our time with Synced. Our main takeaway? That’s okay…a perfectly acceptable, if somewhat standard, shooter that will probably still appeal to a core audience after release. For our full thoughts, check out the video above.
Synced takes place in an apocalyptic world where Nanos roam a restricted area following a devastating disaster that devastates the inhabitants of dozens of nearby dwellings from the dreaded decks. You, a brave explorer who wants to venture in this dangerous world area in search of loot, secrets and exciting dangers must face these nano enemies in the form of monsters.
The largest of these monsters can be synced with, allowing you to use them in combat to hold back hordes. In the field, they are active fighters, able to use their core abilities to support your typical running and shooting. When retracted into your arms, they provide a generally equally useful passive ability.
It’s this mechanic that stands out as the core gimmick that sets Synced apart from so many other online service games. For us, while it does make combat more exciting, we really don’t think it’s enough to give Synced a solid platform to rise above the crowd. It’s fun enough, but at the end of the day, it still feels very much like a typical shooter. That’s fine, if that’s what you’re craving.
There are some aspects of the game that we haven’t tried. PvP is a big part of Synced’s appeal, and perhaps a lot of real skill expression will reveal itself. And then of course there’s the end-game content, where players can jump into elite matches with incredible difficulty increases to match the mountain of gear they’ve amassed. As with all live service games, we believe people will have a lot of fun with them. As it stands, it doesn’t work for us.
Although who knows! Maybe in 2-3 years, Synced will shine, take a big step and keep running. During our chat, Jim brought up Warframe, which is still the typical rags-to-riches story of an online service. A pissing game that has now become a permanent fixture in my life and has always threatened my relationships with my loved ones.
Either way, you can try Synced: Off Planet for free on December 10. We do recommend you try it yourself and see what you think. Maybe we are wrong! Maybe we’re dumb, drunk and imbecile buddies, maybe you’re the expert here. Tell us what you think about Synced below.