In a Nutshell
There's a story people know on planet Pandora, the story of the Vault, which countless people are searching for. Alone or in a group, you must find the vault and the riches therein, fighting alien creatures, psychotic raiders and completing quests along the way in this FPS-RPG hybrid.
Story
The story is not the focus of the experience. That being said, it's adequate for the game. The plot is simplistic with only a couple plot twists around the end. Most of the story is relayed through text that comes with quests or through some audio messages relayed through the ECHO system. The characters are not developed at all, but they're nice. They're flat, sure, but the hint of personality they possess is endearing most of the time. This is certainly what's best for the experience, though, as this is mostly a co-op multiplayer FPS experience.
Gameplay
The game is rather straightforward. You find quests, either to advance the story or merely to get more loot, experience and money, shoot your way through them and then turn them in to get your reward. This is, at it's core, a western action RPG. Enemies drop a variety of randomly generated guns, money and ammunition, upon leveling up, you spend skill points in your character's 3 skill trees, complete quests, compare equipment and so on. it's actually quite a robust RPG in that regard. There are several gun types, ranging from pistols to rocket launchers and including some rather rare alien weaponry. Additionally, you can customize your grenades, ranging from regular ones to teleporting ones or Transfusion grenades which hurt the enemy and siphon their health back into you. Shields allow you to customize your main means of defense and class mods allow you to further customize your character by boosting some skills and adding utilities such as regenerating ammo for the entire party or making you more accurate with a certain type of gun.
Each of the 4 classes, Soldier, Hunter, Siren and Berserker has a special skill, 3 skill trees and some affinity for some types of guns. For example, the soldier specializes in assault rifles and shotguns and can deploy an automated turret gun. This succeeds in giving each of the classes their own feel and, since each gun type has it's own skill, ultimately your own playstyle is going to allow you to build a character up to your liking, getting bonuses with guns you use more often. Enemies come in many varieties, be they alien creatures of human antagonists. Though a lot look very much like palette swaps, they each have their special abilities and can come in "badass" varieties that are tougher but also more rewarding to kill.
The areas you explore have a nice variety, ranging from large, open areas to more confined, linear spaces, including some indoor areas. Quests each have a recommended level for them, and there is some scaling happening behind the scenes as each enemy has its own level. higher level enemies are harder to kill and hit you harder, but also drop better loot, more money and more experience. Chests are strewn upon liberally, containing ammunition, money or sometimes weapons and equipment. The vehicle handles well and, though there are only two turret types, the fact it has more than one turret type is something commendable. The main problem with it is that it sometimes takes way too much damage from collisions with enemies and its turrets begin to be rather weak at some point in the game which removes the utility of having a turret.
There are, however, some flaws. For one, the difficulty is a bit uneven at times, with some areas being quite a lot more challenging than the areas before. The vast majority of the equipment you'll find won't compare favorably and will serve no other purpose than to temporarily clog up your inventory until you find a shop to sell it, though that may be endemic to this type of loot-driven RPG. At one point in the game, I found a gun that was not particularly rare according to the color code, but simply so good it was better than every other gun of its type for a long stretch of the game.
Presentation
The game uses cel-shading to achieve a distinctive look and succeeds rather well. The game, though not particularly pretty manages to look extremely nice through stylization. The character design is distinctive and has a certain low-fi aesthetic to it, as it sells the idea that this is a backwards world that has been abandoned by all but the more adventurous, if not the poorest. there is a sort of quiet misery to be found in the characters, stuck on this planet where Mad Max style raiders outnumber honest citizens almost 3 to 1. The gun designs are rather cool and distinctive, adding a lot of variety to it. Each corporation has its own style and specification. For randomly generated guns, they look rather nice and not samey at all. Creature design is also very inspired, helping drive the point that this is a hostile world, not a garden world. Each important character also gets a very fun little scene and title card in a cool poster style. It's slick and it really helps the game look and feel distinctive. The music is mostly ambient and muted, but it works well to enhance the experience. The game also has two pieces that are more stated for the intro and for the credits and they are rather fantastic songs. All in all, the presentation really shines with this game.
Verdict
If you're looking for a fun co-op experience, a distinctive FPS or a lootfest RPG, look no further, this game succeeds at all three goals. This is a Very Fun Game and a Very Fun Co-Op Experience. Do not miss it, it is that good! With a slick presentation, spot on mechanics and tons of potential hours of fun, this is just a great game.
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