If you’re a fan of classic horror survival games like the old Resident Evil and Silent Hill, you’ll want to keep your eye on Dead Frontier 2.
Launching on August 31, Dead Frontier 2 is set to take inspiration from classic survival games with support for online co-op. It’s a free to play title and there’s a lot of questions to be asked about it.
Here’s a look at everything we know about the game so far.
What Is Dead Frontier 2?
From what we can gather from early gameplay footage, Dead Frontier 2 is a survival horror that takes heavy inspiration from the classics. Perhaps drawing the most similarity between Resident Evil 2, Dead Frontier 2 does a lot to appeal to my inner love for that franchise. Straight off the bat, there are elements that you’ll recognize immediately.
The atmosphere is drawn out well – the world is dark and filled with spooky ambient noises. This is the kind of game you’d want to play with your mates whilst you stay up into the early hours of the morning.
If you’ve ever been in that situation before, you know what survival horror games are all about, so it’s good to know that co-op play is the focus here. There’s no local co-op, but online support is available.
What’s interesting about Dead Frontier 2 is the looting system. Like similar games, Dead Frontier 2’s survival mechanics focus on scavenging for loot, better weapons, and ammo.
It looks like certain items will be exceptionally rare, which means players will always have a reason to turn the place over to look for the best loot.
What’s interesting about this whole thing is that you can trade equipment with other players. I don’t know how in-depth the system will be yet, but there could be room for a thriving player economy.
There’s some risk here, especially considering Dead Frontier 2 is free to play. The Steam store description for Dead Frontier 2 suggests that the free to play elements will strictly be for cosmetics and ‘utilities’.
I’m really hoping that those utilities don’t create some sort of pay to win market. We’ll see how it evolves when the game drops on August 31.
What Makes Dead Frontier 2 Different?
Unfortunately, gameplay details are a little sparse at the moment. In fact, their first title, Dead Frontier, is a top down zombie shooter game. There are some similarities here and there, but the sequel offers a vastly different experience.
I’ve had to piece together an image of what we can expect from Dead Frontier 2 by reading the Steam store description and watching alpha gameplay footage.
We’ve seen the survival horror genre played to death. It takes a lot of talent and creativity to make a good survival horror games these days.
Don’t get me wrong, there are great games getting released all the time, but there is an equal number of flops. Because of this, I’m concerned Dead Frontier 2 won’t do enough to stand out from the crowd.
Here’s a look at some of the unique features coming to Dead Frontier 2. For the game to do well, the DF2 devs really need to get these features done right.
Player Progression and Skills
The Dead Frontier 2 devs want to turn their game into something you pick up and play continuously. They want us to think of it like an MMO – where you develop your character over time and build upon the skills you want to upgrade.
For me, a survival horror game is made extra special when it has a great skill tree. You want skills that add unique abilities to your character, but it’s nice when there are pros and cons for the skills you pick.
One of my favorite skill trees is in Evil Within 2 – it’s straightforward. Abilities basically do what they say on the tin, yet carving your own path through the skill tree is filled with endless choices and possibility.
I hope that the skill tree in Dead Frontier is good in these same ways. It needs to be filled with choice, but each option must be straightforward. This is especially important for a game that is supposedly all about longevity.
Incredible Weapon Design
I’m very excited about Dead Frontier 2’s weapon design. The weapon choices you have in the original top down game are excellent. From what I can tell, these weapons will be ported over to Dead Frontier 2.
There will be a variety of weapon types with all sorts of spikes, skulls, and other attachments, deadly or otherwise. You can see some of the weapon designs here. I’m sure you get the point.
I think that if the weapons are tied into the looting experience properly, we’ll have a game that offers something for the loot monkeys out there.
If you like looting for rare items and fighting for your chance at guns with ridiculously low drop rates, Dead Frontier 2 might be your next favorite thing.
PVP Mode
I’ll be honest, I don’t have high hopes for this one. I’ve seen so many PVP modes tied onto third person action games and they’re never fully realized. They always feel like extra modes tacked onto the experience to make the game feature list larger.
After looking at the gameplay, Dead Frontier 2 doesn’t look like the kind of game that’ll have rewarding PVP. The movement and weapon mechanics are clunky. That’s fine for a survival horror where you come up against stumbling, clumsy zombies. It’s not so much a good option for going against other players.
I could be wrong, but don’t get your hopes up for this feature. Either way, It’s important to note that PVP will be in Dead Frontier 2.
SUmmary
If you’re after a new multiplayer survival horror game you can play with your friends, definitely check out Dead Frontier 2 when it drops on August 31. It’s free to play, so you don’t have anything to lose.
I do have my reservations about the game. There’s a lot that I like about the concept, but it takes creativity to design a truly enjoyable game in this genre at this point.
What are your thoughts on Dead Frontier 2? Will it be dead on arrival or the next Resident Evil?