Developer: Dead Shark Triplepunch
Publisher: Dead Shark Triplepunch
Platform: PC
Epigenesis – Preview
Almost everyone has played fast paced FPS games such as Quake and Unreal Tournament. Epigenesis is Dead Shark Triplepunch’s ‘love letter’ to these games. Dead Shark Triplepunch uses the fast paced gameplay of Unreal Tournament and Quake and makes use of the bombing run to create an all new game.
The goal of Epigenesis is to score as many points as you can in a certain amount of time. The team with the highest score wins the game and there’s a bonus round when the teams end on the same amount of goals. To prevent the enemy team of scoring you can shoot at them to knock them off the map and reset the ball’s location.
The game’s map is divided in multiple platforms which are symmetrical for each team. Some of the platforms hold power-ups which the player can use to get around more easily or defend himself while other platforms are used to plant seeds on. The biggest platforms are on 2 sides of the map and in the middle. The middle part of the map is where the ball respawns and the bases of the teams are located on the side platforms. The goal of each team is located on their spawn platform. When playing, the map can sometimes spawn a tornado which a player can use to get higher or shoot another player into to get him away from you.
The player can move around the map by jumping over the platforms, these jumps can be powered-up twice by holding the jump key. When a player is in the air, he can use a second jump to reach spots that he couldn’t reach with a single jump or to survive a shot from an enemy player. There are two weapons to be used while playing the game; the first weapon shoots fast but slow and inaccurate while the other weapon shoots far, very accurate and fast. The second weapon is used to defend the base from a big distance so that the enemies are unable to score.
Every time a player scores, that player gets a seed. Seeds are used to create plants on certain places of the map to give your team an advantage. When you have a seed you can choose which plant you create by switching between 3 pre-selected plants in your game menu. A plant you have created can be a ramp to get around faster, a shield to block enemy attacks and even a turret that shoots at any enemy it sees. When a plant is created, a player has to power it up to activate it which means that the enemy can also deactivate the plant. Using a seed on a platform claims that platform for your team and can also replace enemy plants that are inactive.
The power-ups on the maps are found in certain places, these places are symmetrical so that every team has at least one power-up to take. Power-ups can give a player multiple kinds of abilities; some give you a speed boost while others help you defend yourself. The speed boost power-ups can give you a boost that makes you go faster or be a chain that you use on a platform to survive or get around faster. The defensive power-ups can give you an invisibility shield or create an explosion around you to throw nearby players away.
Epigenesis allows the player to customize multiple options of the game so that you can make the game as comfortable as possible. This customization allows the player to choose which seed creates what plant. Together with choosing the type of plant you want to create, you can also select which of the passive buffs it gives. These passive buffs can be bigger jumps, moving faster, shooting faster…
When playing Epigenesis, a player can gain multiple levels. These levels are gained by scoring, intercepting the ball, planting seeds or activating and deactivating plants. Leveling up allows the player to unlock more plants to create which gives players who have been playing for a while a small advantage. Using a leveling system encourages every player to keep playing and gain rewards.
Players who are new to the game get helped by a shark and a penguin; these animals are Hannah and Steve. Hannah and Steve explain to you how to connect to servers and how to customize the options so that every player can start off immediately without having to find it out themselves.
My conclusion is that Epigenesis has a great potential, new players get helped enough to enjoy the game right from the start and the fast-paced gameplay keeps the game interesting throughout the whole match. The game did a very good job of getting the feeling of Unreal Tournament and Quake back and this isn’t only because of the Unreal Engine they are using.
Epigenesis - Preview,
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