As multiplayer shooters move away from war and takedown formulas, Off The Grid, now playable by anyone, seeks to combine the two with new breath-taking mechanics into tired game genres.
Off The Grid is a free-to-play game in early access on PC and open beta on PS5 and Xbox Series X, which does the same thing. Although it inherits a lot of game mechanics from previous war games (such as Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone), it has more movement with jetpacks and greater variety thanks to the so-called “cyberlimbs” that include different abilities that can be changed. in and out during the cycle.
The whole game somehow fits into an incredibly well-designed world, where the matches it’s released on are watched all over the world by fans eager for carnage. With deceptive references, the game’s fighters who have flown in to fight are elite (wannabe rich) players and ex-military personnel, all of whom are willing to have their arms and legs removed in order to quickly switch to new online players on the battlefield. . Off The Grid is part schlocky satire of pop culture, part send-up of warroyale-style gamers, and all the smart storytelling you know.
It should not be surprising that the studio of Off The Grid Gunzilla Games has received help from the realization of its creation in the world of Hollywood, especially with the short films made by Neill Blomkamp, whose science fiction films (District 9, Elysium, Chappie) feel made for the universe of the game. A new in-game scene about cyberlimbs that debuted during the early access release was directed by Blomkamp — and it’s a little raunchy, so viewer discretion is advised.
So far, the game has only one mode that mixes battle royale with a shooting format, but others may follow, offering a different gameplay. Since the game is in early availability, expect any of these details to change.
Want to try Off The Grid? Here’s what you need to know.
What is Off The Grid?
Off The Grid is a free-to-play third-person shooter in early access on PC (exclusively through the Epic Games Store), PS5 and Xbox Series X. While there’s no crossover right now, the plan is to eventually let console players play (although unclear if PC will be included), according to a May GameRant interview with Vlad Korolev, CEO of Gunzilla Games.
How do I go off the grid for early access?
Off The Grid is available early on PC, which you can play through the Epic Games Store. It’s free to play with perks you can unlock without spending a dime, or there’s a battle pass that comes with some in-game microtransactions. Off The Grid is free to play in open beta on PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, which you can download from their digital stores.
Who makes Off The Grid?
Off The Grid is being developed by Gunzilla Games, a studio based in Ukraine, which has been teasing the game for a few years at major shows like Gamescom. They’ve also done a few closed gameplay tests, and this current early access (or open beta on consoles) is the first large-scale exposure it’s made available to the public.
How is Off The Grid different from other fighting games?
Two major novelties make Off The Grid stand out from the crowd of multiplayer shooters. After entering the game, you can find different limbs that you can exchange with your own that give neat abilities, such as extended jumps, ground slams, ballistic shields or invisibility. There’s also a jetpack you can use at any time to gain altitude and reposition planes, though damage will disable it briefly.
Those features make Off The Grid game more mobile and powerful than other battle royale games. There’s the usual mix of guns and backpacks to collect and swap out as you navigate locations that unlock loot boxes full of equipment, as well as a host of other challenges that make for a fresh take on the classic shooter subgenre.
How to play Off The Grid
The Grid’s early access period, at the moment, has only one mode you can play: Extraction Royale, a mix of both modes. 60 players enter the map in a ring that slowly closes as groups of players push each other. There is an unplayable battle royale menu option, so for now, players only have the first hybrid mode.
Like other battle royale games, after entering the game map, you will find new equipment inside scattered loot boxes that provide a variety of random guns, cyberlimbs, money and more. The boxes feature armor plates that, like in Call of Duty: Warzone, you can insert yourself for extra protection. You’ll also need to save your inventory, which can be expanded with backpacks.
Currently, there are 21 different firearms in seven categories of modern common firearms: assault rifles, submachine guns, light guns, rifles, sniper rifles, marksman rifles and revolvers. They come in various rarities, adding more attachment points as they increase in level.
Like other war royale games, you just drop the gun and your wits. In addition to what you find on the ground or on the bodies of dead opponents, you can call for preloads (more on that to come), which cost money you pick up from loot boxes. But you’ll want to save some cash to pay your teammates back later in the round. At first, players re-enter for free, but after a certain point (there will be an announcement), only recovery machines will bring them back into the battle.
What are cyberlimbs?
Cyberlimbs come in two forms, arms and legs. They will give you the same abilities that are usually locked to characters in other shooters. Unlike Apex Legends, where you’re stuck with one set of abilities for every round, in Off The Grid you can rotate your limbs in and out as you find them (which takes a while, so it’s not advisable during combat). Abilities have a cooldown before they can be used again.
There are 13 different weapons with abilities including hook shot, goo bomb, toxic smoke bomb, various missiles, invisibility, sword blade and fire bomb. Note that the arms appear from the selected types on the left and right of the circle, and are not interchangeable. There are four types of legs, including a high jump and a fast running speed for a while. Enemies can destroy body parts when shot, so be careful — if someone knocks your legs out, you’ll have to crawl to safety.
Off The Grid’s streamer owns a Hex, which players can find during the game and extract.
Off The Grid’s Extraction Elements: Hexes and Loadables
Rounds of the current version of the Extraction Royale game aren’t just about extracting from the map; instead, you’ll be pulling out items to unlock after the match ends. These items, called Hexes, are small cubes that you will randomly find in loot crates.
Extracting Hexes is no picnic. You’ll need to find a dedicated output module on the map, insert your Hex and activate it — which will alert anyone in the area to what’s going on. A long timer starts and you will have to protect the machine, as people can hijack your process and steal the Hex for themselves.
Hexes contain cyberlimbs, guns, cosmetics or more, but they won’t help you during the round. Once it’s released, you can use power-ups (a limited resource earned by playing matches and completing challenges) to unlock them, after which you can load them.
The more items and the less interesting they appear, the more money you’ll need to spend on loading, so it might make sense to reserve some of your loading slots for cheaper options at the beginning of the cycle or when you refinance.
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