Ukranian developer Dog Howl Games is doing battle with lights, literally and mechanically. Its current project, the upcoming asymmetrical horror gameLevel Zero, features light-based combat where human survivors must use light sources to keep monstrous aliens at bay. But theindiedeveloper must also navigate real-world power outages caused by the war in Ukraine. Despite these setbacks, Dog Howl’s team assures fans that they are committed to bringing players the best multiplayer horror experience possible.
Game Rant spoke withLevel Zero’s lead 3D artist Alex Golenishchev and other members of Dog Howl Games about the titles' mechanics, systems, and influences, which range fromAlien IsolationtoThe Thing. The team also shared a preview video that shed light on the way combat and character building will work.
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Light is Survival in Level Zero
LikeAlan Wake’s light-based combat,Level Zeroforces players to rely on light sources to keep predators at bay. Humans will have access to a number of gadgets and light sources including glow sticks, flashlights, flares, and motion-activated floodlights. Given light’s ability to simultaneously defend against and damage monsters, Golenishchev warns that players who are controlling monsters will have to plan their attack approaches carefully.
“I think if you play as a monster, you will definitely learn that rushing toward survivors is not an easy option. Monsters will need to play in a stealthier manner; awaiting their pray in the darkness, as opposed to other games, where the monsters can feel overpowered.”
Glow sticks are primarily a traversal item for the dimly lit maps. Motion-activated floodlights effectively work like automatic turrets, acting as area-denial tools that will kill monsters who stray too close. Flashlights are the closest thing to standard weapons, but have limited charges. Flares are the ultimate last-resort in a survivors' arsenal, as they can be quickly ignited and will atomize creatures in close-proximity, or provide a temporary, powerful light source for navigation. Players will need to scour their environment, as the survivors' ultimate goal is to complete a number of technical tasks similar to those inAmong Us, anotherasymmetrical multiplayer title, to eventually escape.
Each time a player activates a light source for traversal, they effectively give away their position to monsters, creating a cat-and-mouse dynamic. Another interesting side effect of using light-based weapons is that the skill-ceiling is more dependent oncoordinating with teammates, managing resource, and placing item than precision aiming.
Checks and Balances for Light-Based Combat
Despite the various tools at the survivors' disposal, light-averse monsters are theequivalent toDead by Daylight’s killersfor a reason. They have a wide array of abilities to stalk and eliminate their human prey. While the hunters-versus-hunted dynamic is fairly matched now, Golenishchev said Dog Howl had trouble getting the balance right early on.
“[I]t felt like the survivors were the predators hunting the monsters. You could pop a flare and simply run after a monster. So that was very tricky. We had to solve that early on. The way we solved that was by adding the scream ability for the monsters.”
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In addition to the stunning scream ability, monsters have access to an EMP that will disable technology and disrupt ambient lighting, opening the path to an assault. Monsters will also be able to lay traps that release smaller, facehugger-esque enemies that survivors can stumble across in the dark, forcing them to burn resources they would normally reserve to defend against larger, player-controlled creatures. Another notable ability is the ranged spit-attack that can douse flares. Finally, monsters are able to travel through vents, again similar toAmong Us' Impostersand xenomorphs from theAlienfranchise.
While aliens can respawn repeatedly to take out their human prey, humans will resurrect as drones. These drones can assist with the various tasks necessary for the surviving humans to make an escape, but they are useless at combating creatures and can be disabled via EMPs.
Cosmetics, Collectibles, and Perks in Level Zero
Humans will be able to purchase talent-like Perks with experience accrued from missions, andcustomize their appearancewith in-game currency. Equipment, however, must be scavenged. Each map type has a different kind of base-suit that is themed to the environment, which players can then embellish with various cosmetics. Monsters can also be customized with unique skins and gruesome “finisher” animations to unleash on downed humans.
Another important mechanic for game balance is the impermanence of perks.Failing a missionwill cause the player to lose perks they had equipped. This consumable perk system ensures that EXP will be a valuable currency after a player has theoretically “unlocked everything,” and encourages players to regularly try new combinations of abilities after failing with one set-up.
Level Zerois currently in development with a projected launch in 2023 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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