Cooperative shooters have taken a number of twists over the years, but all remain being compared to the standard set by Left 4 Dead and its subsequent sequel. Most fall in the same direction, four players, tons of enemies and plenty of violent reaction to said enemies. It’s easy to think that GTFO would follow suite, even more so given the marketing materials put out there, but things are not as they seem.
GTFO
Developer: 10 Chambers Collective
Price: $35 USD
Platform: PC (reviewed)
MonsterVine was supplied with a Steam code for review
Dropping the balls to the wall action-fest stylings of its peers, GTFO is a slow and methodical approach to the cooperative landscape. A game in which preparation and patience play more of a role than slamming the trigger repeatedly. In a simpler way of looking at things, GTFO is more the first act of Aliens, as opposed to other co-op shooters than play like the latter acts. But does that produce a compelling experience? Yes, but probably not for everyone.
GTFO makes it abundantly clear that the road ahead is going to a bumpy one. So bumpy that you’ll come out with whiplash and a popped lip. In the current build of the game, each map contains a set objective that must be obtained, with success requiring the players to promptly bug out. It’s a simple outline, but one with so many complications in between, which is where GTFO shines.
Before each mission, players are given the ability to choose their loadout from guns, tools and aides (health kits, glow sticks). As expected, SMGs, shotguns, rifles and sidearms make up the current arsenal of weapons, but it’s the tools that take the limelight. GTFO is intended to be played as a hard-core cooperative game, with an emphasis on communication. Two defensive options are offered in the Mine Deployer and Sentry Gun, both of which do as you expect, boom-boom and bang-bang. Utility comes in the shape of the C-Foam Launcher and the Bio Tracker, both of which are necessities.
Bio Trackers scan for life-forms, revealing foes behind doors and in rooms drenched with darkness. The C-Foam Launcher allows for doors to be sealed, but also acts as a means of crowd control, freezing enemies in place. Both tools require communication to utilize efficiently, especially as the levels progress. Bio-trackers act as the backbone of any well-formed strategizing, never becoming anything but vital. The act of scanning areas and relying back information to teammates becomes a ritual in every game of GTFO played, thankfully, it remains oddly compelling.
Weaponry, however, tends to fall on the side of wanting more than compelling. Despite their heavily mechanical design, there’s a lack of weight about them. Other issues tend to fall around balance, with the likes of the SMG not feeling viable compared to other options, or low ammo, high damage weapons not killing basic enemies quickly. GTFO plays a Halo with the sidearms becoming the stars among firearms. The pistol and revolver carry a good amount of power, displaying a fine balance between finesse and utility, arguably a little too often.
Of course, what’s the point in all those tools if you don’t have a place to play with them? GTFO’s dens and claustrophobic level designs are the perfect playground. Narrow corridors, compounded by cluttered hangers, weave into each other seamlessly. There’s an insidious nature to how each area is crafted, never allowing the players to see too much, or feel secure.
Blind spots decorate the environment, forcing a sense of unease and vulnerability within those who venture into them. Typically, each mission throws a wrench into the proceedings. Blast doors require players to stand in set positions to begin an unlocking process, that same process also happens to alert waves of enemies.
It’s a savage change of pace that typifies the entire character of GTFO. Always teetering on the edge of implosion, the constant threat waiting to burst from the seams is palpable. Here lies GTFO’s biggest strength. It could have been a balls to the wall co-op shooter, or a gimmick filled experience cashing in on the hottest trends. Instead, it strips away the idea of empowerment and replaces it with such a keen sense of barely being able to cope. Your ammo is limited, the vision hindered, threats numerous. It’s cohesive.
Enhancing the foreboding sense of impending doom, the enemies of GTFO are a deadly bunch. Contorted figures of flesh and grim delights, they’re quiet, mostly. The bulk of the creatures inhabiting each stage are in dormant states, only reacting to touch, light or noise. Some will pulsate with a red glow, signalling how close they are to unleashing hell. Large, hulking, enemies hit hard and soak up damage like anyone with a once of fame on Twitter.
But then there’s the curious creature feature. Hunched over, face lurching towards the floor, back open like a bloomed flower. A number of thin tentacles spread around the room, just waiting for a slight touch of contact. The initial encounter with these foes is jarring, forcing a revaluation of everything learnt so far. A single touch of a wandering tentacle and it’s a desperate struggle to withstand the incoming horde.
It’s a key element to the flow of GTFO. Each enemy presents a different challenge that can rarely be beaten by a blanket approach. Despite expectations, guns blazing is the last resort, and not the default. Ultimately, GTFO feels fresh for that very reason. The gameplay loop is fluid, not a one-way stream. Plan, utilize, avoid, coordinate, hope.
Once the goal is accomplished, it’s time to GTFO, literally. Hordes of enemies descend, the time to think is reduced to mere seconds. It’s a frantic test of decision making and memory that separates those invested and those simply playing. A fitting climax.
Admittedly, for everything GTFO does right, there are a few clunky bits here and there. Some animations don’t look quite as smooth as they should, but we’re moving into nitpicks here. As a current package, GTFO has everything going for it to stand out as a unique flavour of co-op action. The approach it has may not allow it to hit mass appeal, but a cult following is surely on course.
But… and it’s a big but. Currently, GTFO offers no in-game matchmaking. In its place, we have an official Discord server in which players can set up games and invite their newfound friends using Steam/lobby codes. The lack of matchmaking can make jumping on and into a game a true challenge. It’s not uncommon to find yourself either running into walls of lobbies filling up or some breakdown in communication. The romantic in me could wax lyrical how this entire process is a reminder of the ‘good old days’ before lobbies matchmaking became the norm, but I’d be telling lies. Sometimes it leads to great experiences and newfound allies, other times its forty minutes down the drain and no game to show for it.
The Final Word
With everything previously said, the lack of matchmaking will most probably be the defining factor of whether you pay the entry fee. Though, it is worth noting that matchmaking is listed on the GTFO development road map.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
