In an inadvertent reveal by PlayStation, the gaming world received its first glimpse at an exciting new shooter from District 9 director, Neill Blomkamp.
Developed by the multi-national development studio, Gunzilla Games, the upcoming title, Off The Grid, promises to be an exhilarating addition to the battle royale genre.
Gunzilla Games had previously announced its collaboration with Blomkamp for a battle royale shooter. However, until now, details about the game were scant. We knew it would be launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and that it will use use Unreal Engine 5. Now, thanks to an accidental listing on the PlayStation Store, as spotted by Gematsu, the gaming community got a taste of the much-anticipated title through several gameplay screenshots, despite their swift removal.
The PlayStation Store page for battle royale third-person shooter Off The Grid (@playoffthegrid) is up, including the first (I think) real screenshots: https://t.co/f3pykUpFBh
Gematsu page (for news and trailers): https://t.co/NIwWzmZYED pic.twitter.com/qeH9jjMj6y
— Gematsu (@gematsu) August 1, 2023
The game’s description, still available on the PlayStation Store, provides an insight into the world Off The Grid will immerse players in. The game pitches players into a covert corporate war amongst three mega-corporations, combining Player vs Player (PvP) and Player vs Environment (PvE) elements in a sprawling cyberpunk landscape.
The narrative campaign spans an impressive 60 hours on the fictional Teardrop Island, where up to 150 players will battle for survival simultaneously. The game allows for character enhancement through either loot extraction or in-game body modifications, offering unique abilities. The developers promise a new level of battle royale experience with the ability to team up with other players.
However, this exciting news does come with a caveat. Previous reports suggested that Off The Grid might integrate a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) platform called GunZ. The status of this potential feature remains uncertain as the NFT market has seen a significant downturn, raising hopes that this aspect might have been dropped. A concrete release date for Off The Grid is still pending.
The game promises an ambitious blend of narrative-driven and battle-royale gaming two concepts that usually don’t mix, raising questions about the game’s execution. But with Neill Blomkamp, renowned for his work on District 9, serving as the chief visionary officer, there is hope. Notably, Blomkamp’s studio has an impressive repertoire of short science fiction films, some of which are CGI, others live-action. This record sets high expectations for Off The Grid’s cut scenes, irrespective of the game’s overall quality.
Despite the optimism, some reservations linger. Fans of Blomkamp’s storytelling prowess have expressed disappointment over his venture into the saturated battle royale genre, preferring a more narrative-focused game instead. Even so, the anticipation for Off The Grid remains high, with gamers eager for further details.
Though the accidental revelation via the PlayStation Store was unforeseen, it has nonetheless whetted the appetites of fans. In the days to come, gamers will be keenly awaiting more details about this intriguing new title if only to jump at the chance to criticize it and tell PlayStation, “I told you so.”
So far, Sony has yet to convert fans into believers in its live-service venture. Despite significant investment in the genre, it has yet to have something to show for it.
