I’ve just played through a couple of missions from the new playtest for DarkSwarm, and I’ll cut the chase: my first impression of the new co-op shooter from Bitfire Games is that it has the potential to be rather cool.
Before I dive into my own opinions, let’s get the formalities over with. The new open playtest for DarkSwarm is going to run up until September 7th – this isn’t an extended demo and if you want to try it for yourself, there’s no time to waste. So, while the current build is downloading, you can read my thoughts below.
What is DarkSwarm?
Developed by Bitfire Games with support from Ghost Ship Publishing, DarkSwarm is a top-down co-op shooter about futuristic soldiers dropping in behind enemy lines and blasting alien monstrosities in the face until they are… well… ex-alien monstrosities, if you get me?!
DarkSwarm supports up to four players, and once you’ve all readied up and left the safety of home, each one of you will beam down to a base or location wherein you will control your own little trooper, complete with eye-catching laser sight to help keep track of where you’re firing.
I played through a couple of missions, one focused inside a metallic space base, and one where we were exploring an outdoor environment full of pestilent flora, traps, and giant worms that erupt from the ground and vomit green acid all over the place. Indoors isn’t much better, with pulsating sacks full of alien spawn just waiting to explode near a careless player who strays too close.
The top-down perpsective, the sci-fi combat, and the theme left me reminiscing about Alienation, a somewhat similar game developed by Housemarque, and one which I fondly remember playing on the ol’ PS4. The little alien creatures that rush you all that time also kinda reminded me of facehuggers…
Tactical combat and horrible monsters
The combat is already quite robust, and it’s clear that the whole thing is being structured with co-op play in mind. Ammo is in short supply, so you’ll have to share with your friends. Similarly, health points are at a premium, and once you’ve run out of med kits you will need to be revived by a comrade should you fall during battle. Sticking close to the pack is therefore vital.
The mission objectives that I encountered were multi-stage, but also not very complicated. A well co-ordinated team should have no problem working through their to-do list, and even the randoms I was playing with did a great job of working together towards our shared objectives.
The limited resources on offer, combined with the misison structure, creates immediate tension that presses the action forward. It quickly became clear that lone-wolfing it was not an option. As such, I think a small team of buddies are going to get the most out of an experience like this one, although there are already people on the servers and it didn’t take me long to get a game.
I think Ghost Ship is going to prove a good partner for a project like this one. Deep Rock Galactic is all about the co-op chaos, and the more recent Guntouchables is another a third-party indie game being published by the same team. What I’m saying is: they’ve got the right experience. But we’re not here to talk about that…
We’re hear to talk about DarkSwarm, which is already shaping up to be a tense and atmospheric co-op shooter. I love the alien designs, the sci-fi horror vibes, and the tactical combat feels like it is already heading in the right direction. I’ll be keeping my laser sights firmly fixed on this one, for sure.
