Afterfall: Reconquest Episode 1 Is AfterOut ReNow
Post-apocalyptic shooting
Fans of gritty black-and-white shooters and fans of ridiculous compound words can at last cease their generation-long struggle, because at last there is something that provides for both parties. (Er, if you don't count MadWorld, although that wasn't entirely shooty.)
Afterfall: Reconquest Episode 1 [official site] has launched, promising a story-oriented bundle of post-apocalyptic shooty action. You know what that means: industrial ruinporn, the re-emergence of nature, mutants and raiders trying to kill and eat everyone, etcetera.
Has there even been a videogame opponent lower on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs than a post-apocalyptic mutant raider? They're all "graar I will consume your flesh wastelander" whilst charging at you with a bit of old pipe. That's no way to self-actualise.
Unlike post-apocalyptic baddies Reconquest isn't entirely black-and-white: there is, if nothing else, the rich claret of blood. The obvious reference points for such visual stylings are Betrayer and the aforementioned MadWorld, although I suspect Reconquest is going to be very tonally different from the latter and culturally distinct from the former.
It's also the follow-up to survival horror game Afterfall: Insanity, which set up the story of the world's collapse, allowing for Reconquest to be about reconquering it. That was good planning. Our Adam wasn't terribly impressed by Insanity. Still, developers can learn a lot in three and a half years, and one shonky game shouldn't earn you a demerit forever.
This is promised to be the first in a series of nine episodes. Nine! That's more episodes than you usually get in a game series. I'd be interested to see if the game still feels fresh when you get to episode 9, which will be dog knows how far down the line. Still, at the price they're asking for Episode 1 it might be worth a punt: it's on Steam for £3.74 / $5.24 / €5.24.