The Flock Trailer Shines Light On Closed Alpha

Remember The Flock? It's that asymmetric multiplayer thriller based around shining light on monsters – and now it's got a closed alpha and a new trailer.

As per the new trailer the game starts with three to five players roaming the map as monstrous zombie creatures. The first person to reach the light source lantern thing (the technical term is Light Artifact) becomes the Carrier.

When I say becomes, I don't just mean they're the same creature, just now holding a lamp. What I mean is that they phyically change. They're smaller for one thing. Dutch developers Vogelsap add that they're slower and more vulnerable too. To balance out this disadvantage, the rest of the monsters are weak when it comes to light and can only avoid burning to death in the lantern's glare if they stand still and turn, temporarily, to stone.

There's a heavy element of Grandmother's Footsteps to it – remember that? That playground game where you tried to race up to someone when their back was turned and then freeze in place when they turned round. A pop culture equivalent would be the stone angels in Doctor Who.

The goal of the Carrier is to stay alive as long as possible. It also looks from the trailer like there's a recharging element which you need to interact with in order to stop your lamp sputtering and going out. The goal of everyone else is to attack the Carrier and take the light source for themselves.

As someone who was actually good at Grandmother's Footsteps I have signed up for the alpha in order that I may own some fools and cart around a big torch. If my childhood skills prove non-transferable let us never speak of this again.