Turtle Rock Studios helped define the cooperative squad-based genre with Left 4 Dead and its recently released spiritual successor, Back 4 Blood. 10 Chamber Collective, a small group of former Payday developers, was undoubtedly inspired by the acclaimed zombie-killing franchise. In truth, the studio’s debut project, GTFO, is Payday meets Left 4 Dead, but with a deliciously dangerous learning curve. GTFO’s satisfying blend of tactical action and all-encompassing uneasiness will likely appeal to FPS fanatics craving an electrifying challenge. And now that the two-year Early Access period is over, 10 Chamber Collective’s survival horror shooter could reach a wider audience. How is the full version of the game holding up? Despite a repetitive loop, GTFO elegantly differentiates itself from its predecessors while still being an accessible thrill.
My four player crew is being held captive by an entity called “The Warden” who is forcing us into an underground facility called “The Complex” to recover various items that will help uncover the truth behind a devastating virus that is causing… the earth devours. It’s immediately apparent that GTFO’s best feature is its punchy tone. Rundown 6.0, the latest series of Expeditions available, is an all-out assault on the senses. From the claustrophobic crash at the start of each mission to The Complex’s bewildering array of labs and dig sites, every component of GTFO gameplay is inundated with high-stakes excitement. Early expeditions (denoted by the letters AD with increasing difficulty) offer vague tutorial details – locate the target, advance to the specified zone, survive an alarming door scan. These tutorials practically disappear the deeper I go into The Complex. Fleshy, grotesque humanoids, sensitive to light and sound, sleep in the dark. Sudden movements or mis-clicks of the flashlight can lead to end-of-the-world scenarios. I appreciate these strict restrictions. Clear communication and kit experiments feel more satisfying this way, especially when extraction becomes more difficult at higher down levels.
I’ve spent a lot of game time preparing for upcoming expeditions. Loadout balancing is essential in GTFO, and it’s a good thing that each prisoner can be equipped with two firearms, a melee weapon, a high-powered tool, and double-edged buffs called “boosters.” GTFO rewards stealthy approaches and meticulous planning, so I usually bring a knife with me to silently take down unsuspecting “sleepers”, while also relying on my bio-tracker tool to chart enemy locations. Other gear includes blunt weapons and cool gadgets like foam launchers to slow down rampaging targets/seal doors shut, or automatic sentries to pound pesky flankers with tungsten rounds. Booster effects such as increased damage and fixed resistances make each prisoner look like a one-person army. It’s never easy defeating monsters using synchronized melee attacks to build up reinforced defenses to mow down incoming enemies. However, if every player is paying attention and using equipment effectively, GTFO’s disparate squadrons suddenly feel like well-oiled machines.
Launching Expeditions with friends is the best way to experience the horrific mayhem, and GTFO’s team-oriented exploration mechanics are proof of that. I’d share medical packs and ammo scattered across the map with less fortunate companions – that one shotgun who always gets hit on the frontline, or the far-off sniper who’s constantly low on ammo. In addition, tools pay off satisfactorily when combined with each other. Mines deployed on foamed gateways would wipe out entire armies, allowing the team to conserve resources for creatures with larger health pools. Roaring in unison as swarms climb into a once-empty room, and breathing a sigh of relief when the team emerges somehow unharmed is one of my favorite moments in GTFO.
I just wish there was more to do. Searching mostly pitch-black environments to collect artifacts (boosters) or find far-flung terminals and other boring destinations becomes tedious. A range of enemy types with worm-like appendages, energy beams, and tentacle wings keep the action fresh from the start. However, after you memorize key coordinates, most of that horrific magic is removed. Some interesting environmental puzzles show up in command consoles (interactive parsers) that I can use to search for and ping important items like keycards. But experienced gamers often ignore these computers, rendering them useless in most cases. And when matchmaking, trolls and/or quitters make gaming annoying through hour-long expeditions. Rundown 6.0 implements competent bots that can be commanded and mercifully checkpointed to fix these issues. However, there’s nothing more disheartening than watching a trigger-happy stranger join a D-level mission with intent on killing off his entire team. Finding success is downright punishing if you don’t have your own group.
GTFO might be getting stale the more hours I put into it, but 10 Chamber Collective’s decrepit updates work like seasons and are guaranteed to introduce new levels and primary/secondary objectives to complete over the coming months. Gunplay leaves a lot to be desired as the catalog of assault rifles, SMGs, pistols, and shotguns feel the same, but stealth runs are satisfying to plan with others. Guttural screeches from enemies chill blood during fights, while dark and intricate backdrops limit visibility and keep me on my toes. GTFO is not for the faint of heart. Still, the fear of death means restructuring and improvisation are the order of the day, which is a metagame that’s feeling disappointingly absent in most co-op shooters lately. If you’re craving an FPS that will test your critical thinking and mechanical skills, then GTFO might be the perfect hidden gem to satisfy those cravings.
