written by Naufal Arvy Rasyidin
MMO Survival Games have come a long way since the rise of the DayZ mod in Arma 2. I remember when I played the mod with my friends on our server and had so much fun just surviving, scavenging, and fighting buggy zombies. After the rise , there are so many other MMO Survival Games that popped out, such as Rust, Ark: Survival Evolved, Escape from Tarkov, State of Decay, and many more.
Now even in 2021, the genre is still finding its way to thrive, and now there is an upcoming MMO survival game called “The Day Before”, developed by Fntastic, a game developer from Yakutsk, Russia, and the people behind The Wild Eight. They have just released their announcement video trailer for The Day Before and the game looks quite impressive.
From the first impression, it gives us The Division and The Last of Us vibes, as the setting is located in a post-apocalyptic dense city of America, and from the setting alone it is already quite different from most of the MMO Survival games where usually the settings are located in a suburban area and expanded to forests and coasts. The game itself looks great with its outstanding visuals and details.
There is little shown about the story of the world itself, but looking at the environment and the infected, we can assume that the world has gone into a post-apocalyptic state after a deadly virus attacked humanity and has turned many inhabitants into flesh-devouring infected. Any sense of government has fallen, and the remaining survivors must do whatever it takes to survive. The video also hints that the pandemic may have taken place in the middle of winter, just around the time for Christmas.
In the video, the player arrives in their preferred scavenging location by car. If there is a drivable car included in the game, we can expect that the map will be massive. The two players start looting around the street, looking for items in wrecked cars and from outset on behalf of immersion, the game doesn’t highlight any objects where the players should look for items, forcing players to figure out by themselves by exploring the area until the prompt button pops out. This looting system is reminiscent to Escape From Tarkov, though the inventory system is more in the simpler style like DayZ or Rust.
Gear slots that your character can use, are divided into 7 categories: outwear, pants, backpack, primary weapon, secondary weapon, headgear, and armor. I think for the outwear and pants, it is for warmth and cosmetics purposes, and as for backpacks, it may have an effect on your inventory slots quantity, armor and headgear for better protection, and two slots for weapons that you can choose for action. Looking at the HUD, there are three symbols to show your character’s need: warmth, energy/stamina, and hydration. Those three basic needs are no stranger to MMO survival games, and players can fulfill those needs by finding good clothes, foods, and water while scavenging.
When the players are exploring, they hear a radio broadcast that there is a survivor colony nearby for players to seek a safe place to trade and to meet and cooperate with other players. What we still don’t know is whether the survivor colony is an NPC-based safe location or a player-made base, as most of the dialogues in the video seem rather scripted. We are expecting the devs to shed more insight into this feature at a later date. If it is an NPC-based location, then it would be similar to The Division or State of Decay where there’s a safe checkpoint for players to set up their characters. If it is a player-made base, then we can expect that the place was built by a group of players and they are offering safe walls and a trading option for other players outside their group, similar to when your group made a base in Rust or Ark: Survival Evolved where it is entirely up to you to decide what your base will be.
In the open world, players can encounter other players and they might not as kind. They will sometimes attack you for your loot, and you have to do whatever it takes to survive, whether to fight back or escape. And these players are not the least of your concern as you are shooting at each other, the noise will attract nearby lurking hordes of infected that came out of nowhere and they will swarm you on sight. From here the concept of DayZ is showing, where infected and/or zombies will always be around in the world especially in high-density areas and they will be attracted by the noise created by the players, thus making them another obstacle in the harsh world of this MMO survival genre that you need to overcome.
Also, a crafting system is being applied as the video reveals the player using a bandage, by crafting it using materials collected from looting, to heal himself by stopping the bleeding. Though we are not sure whether the guns and weapons can be modified with attachments such as with grips, sights, scopes, or muzzles and such, as it was not showcased in the footage.
As Fntastic has just released the announcement for The Day Before, at the moment there is no news on the games release window, however, based on how thrilling this first look gameplay, it may be safe to assume that the game would be a highly anticipated new addition to the MMO Survival genre roster, and here’s hoping that it could stand side by side with its predecessors.