In todays devlog, I wanted to answer a very simple question (with perhaps a not so simple answer)… “What type of game is Xenosis, and how will it play?”

At its core, the game is a survival adventure, with a focus on giving you a great story, a huge ship full of secrets and challenging combat and stealth. The game could be described as a top down metroidvania, in that the ship will open up new sections as you find the right access cards, passcodes, keys etc. Often this will give you shortcuts back to previous sections of the ship. The focus really is on exploration, but there is the ever present danger of survival. Your suit needs oxygen and power, two resources that are in limited supply and this is the element that keeps the gameplay driven, but offers that risk / reward system for exploration. Should you explore that tunnel you just opened up? You are low on power, but there could be supplies, or even better, new crafting schematics. But taking damage might also tear your suit, forcing you to repair it before you loose all your precious oxygen. Its these choices and systems that build the overall tension and atmosphere of the game.

The game features a inventory, loot and crafting system, you will need to scavenge components and find crafting schematics to use the ships crafting terminals. Need to craft ammunition? Head over to the security deck and find the munitions section…. need medical supplies? You’ll have to head to the science deck and find the medical replicators. This makes crafting make more sense in the game, after all, why would you be able to craft biochemical suit upgrades in the laundry? I am a keen believer in giving the game a form of grounded reality too, so that things make sense. The engineering section looks like an engineering section and will contain things you would expect in that area, which will be totally different to the research labs for example. As a player, you can use your instincts when exploring and the game should reward you for doing so. You can find new weapons and craft upgrades for your hazard suit, weapons and your multi tool, all of which will help you survive the dangers that lurk further into the ship.

Combat in Xenosis is designed to be challenging and intense

The combat and stealth mechanics are key to the experience, enemies should feel dangerous and not just a swarm of bullet sponges. They should react to you, hunt you, work together and flee if scared. This makes the overall experience far more believable, and adds to the layer of tension and immersion that we aim to keep at all times. Stealth is fully dynamic and reacts to shadow and light. Need to make yourself hidden? Turn the lights off, break them or perhaps push an object in front of them to cast a shadow. This allows you to avoid combat entirely if you would prefer, or if you have too (you might well be out of ammo after all).

One of the things we are most proud of is the audio too. We have put a lot of work into making the audio really draw you in, using 3D positional technology and layering sounds to create atmosphere. If you stand in the engineering deck your footsteps will echo across the hangar, you will hear the low hum of machinery, the buzzing of florescent lighting and the slow deep creaking of the ships hull. The music reacts to the player too, when exploring its designed to give a low level of feeling and presence, but as the tension rises so does the music. If you are being hunted the music will let you know, if you enter combat we layer in energy to raise the tension even further. We pride ourselves on attention to detail and that’s something that all players have commented on, which is awesome!

One final note on gameplay, the game will be fully playable with controllers or keyboard and mouse, whichever you prefer, but both work exceptionally well.

What gameplay elements are you most excited for? Perhaps you have ideas of your own that you would love to see in the game? Comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Kind Regards,

James.

Xenosis: Alien Infection is being crowdfunded on Fig, visit the campaign here: http://www.fig.co/Xenosis