| Downfall | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | DECA AU |
| Publisher(s) | NINE100 Studios |
| Engine | Wartech 4 |
| Genre(s) | First-Person Survival Horror |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Multiplayer |
| Ratings | Mature (ESRB), 18 (PEGI) |
- "No One Can Hear You Scream"
- ―Official Tagline.
Downfall is a first-person survival horror game developed by DECA AU and published by NINE100 Studios.
Development[]
- "We know we haven't talked a lot about Downfall, but that's because we want it to be good enough first before revealing any gameplay details. We want to really capture the dread and desperation we're aiming for and one of our teams is working very hard to execute that concept perfectly. We care about the title and want it be the way it should be, instead of rushing out an underdeveloped product."
- ―DECA Spokesman when asked about Downfall.
Downfall was teased at E3 2016 as a new IP by 5-7 Development, but the game was passed on to different studios within NINE100 Studios after getting stuck in development hell. Eventually, after iceboxing the Fog of War franchise after the prospective marketing cannibalization of the Insurrection entry, the newly formed DECA AU studio acquired the project. The troubled studio, who was acquired by DECA to be helped with production and thus far was unable to deliver, would conceptualize the IP as Sci-Fi Before Christ, carrying over their unique survival horror experience and applying it to Downfall.
Singleplayer[]
Gameplay[]
Downfall is an immersive survival horror game that combines prehistoric and sci-fi elements to create a thrilling gameplay experience. Players must navigate a world where advanced technology has been replaced by primal tactics necessary for survival.
The game offers a diverse range of enemies, most of which are significantly more powerful than the player character. This constant threat intensifies the horror genre, enhanced by jumpscare ambushes and tense enemy encounters. Overcoming these foes often requires more than simply dealing damage, as some enemies necessitate unique approaches such as utilizing fire. Stealth also plays a vital role, with players employing unconventional methods to avoid detection, as alien adversaries perceive targets differently from humans, relying on senses other than sound and hearing.
While the player will encounter periods of intense enemy encounters, a significant portion of gameplay focuses on scavenging the environment without immediate threats. Crafting weapons, supplies, and other essential items becomes crucial during these moments, as players gather materials and ammunition. The looming presence of potential enemy attacks or hidden dangers creates a constant sense of unease, intensified by 18Hz sound cues and atmospheric music. Progression in Downfall follows a predominantly linear structure, guiding players from one mission location to another. However, each mission location offers a vast sandbox environment for immersive exploration. Additionally, players have the freedom to engage in free-roaming within the current location or revisit previously charted areas between missions.
There is an extensive customization available for the player character, known as "Rookie." Players can fully customize Rookie's appearance, and during gameplay, the character has minimal dialogue in cutscenes and none during regular gameplay. Progression is tied to Rookie's activities, with stats improving over time. Engaging in combat enhances weapon handling skills, while crafting activities improve craft speed and unlock higher-tier items. Each level-up rewards players with tokens that can be spent in specific skill trees, such as the Predator skill tree for combat-related tokens or the Survivalist skill tree for crafting-related tokens. This system allows players to shape Rookie's abilities and tailor their playstyle accordingly.
Plot[]
During the centuries to come, Earth becomes ravaged by natural disasters. The collapse of the ecosystem wrecks the planet, leaving it uninhabitable. A few earthlings leave to live in a space colony. However, after a few centuries they get a signal from earth, suggesting there is still life on the planet. A voyage to earth occurs, but the ship crashes on the planet.
The game opens with you and your squad sent on the planet to investigate the crash site of the main ship. Even though they do not encounter any lifeform, the atmosphere is eerie nonetheless. They find the ship and go on board, finding out through recordings that they were attacked. The team is then ambushed by beastial alien creatures and Rookie is separated from his allies and has to flee into the jungle of Central America.
The game continues as Rookie now has to survive in the remains of earth against violent creatures. During the course of the game, Rookie fights elite units of this race, finds his squadmates, one who has gone insane, another who lost his leg andhas a makeshift prosthetic, one that is “raped” to break her mental state, and also survivors of the ship’s crash, including a professor who tries to explain the biological processes behind the aliens.
A plot twist later in the game reveals that the main antagonistic alien race you encounter the most, the Stalkers, are actually hive mind controlled by a small group of intelligent aliens, one that has advanced far beyond humans, known as the Seven. The Seven send the causes of the ecological collapse across the universe to prepare planets for harvest so as to “grow” further. They enslaved and re-engineered the Stalkers as workers, eventually assimilating their evolution to grow themselves.
The Seven learned about the human colony and lured them back to Earth to test them. The fact that the Stalkers learned behavior was actually the Seven experimenting with how to torment the humans, such as using rape to study the effects. The game ends with Rookie killing one of the Seven, learning about how they accomplish their assimilation strategy, and leaving the plot in a cliffhanger.