Last Year: The Nightmare might be the asymmetrical multiplayer killer app
There's probably a word in German for it, but there's a sincere delight in seeing something you Kickstarter backed (or nearly backed) several years ago re-appear, after you were positive that it had disappeared into the internet void forever. Last Year: The Nightmare was a title that obliterated its original fundraising goal by triple, and I remember being obsessed with the character dynamics in this asymmetrical multiplayer horror game. Today at PAX, we're finally seeing the result of four years of development. I am as excited for this as I was seeing the title on day one.
Elastic Games brings a Friday The 13th / Dead By Dawn title that involves classic horror trope locations and a big spooky monster. (I actually thought this game got converted into Friday The 13th at some point... for some reason? Glad I was wrong.)
The win conditions for survivors sound delightfully open to interpretation:
For survivors, completing objectives doesn't have to be done in the same way every time or in a specific order. For example, the keys to the truck are located in the office cabin but the gas is in the maintenance shed on the other side of the camp. You'll need to decide if the whole group should move together and protect each other, or split up and accomplish the tasks quicker but put yourself at greater risk of attack.
The bigger twist, and what I remember the most about the title's announcement in 2014, is the system for monster spawning. Essentially, any location that isn't within the direct line of sight for one of the survivors is a possible spawning location. Behind doors. Behind you. Inside of you. I'm not sure about that last one but it feels right.
AHHHHHH. AHHHHHHHHHHH. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHsome.
The game is also set in 1996. Here's hoping for a few time period specific licensed music cues. You know what I'm saying: Blast the entirety of Beck's Odelay into my face even if that completely destroys the mood of Last Year. You know that I am right about this.
Brief coverage from PAX East is live now here:
Here's a video of various map and some gameplay demonstration from late 2017:
You can follow along at the game's official page.