District 9 and Chappie director Neill Blomkamp is working on a battle royale game with a compelling storyline called Off the Grid.
Neill Blomkamp’s dark comedy sci-fi drama District 9 has influenced the film industry in a way few could have foreseen. His subsequent films Elysium and Chappie cemented Blomkamp’s status as one of the most exciting creators in the industry. Now Blomkamp is trying to get into the video game industry with the fledgling studio Gunzilla Games. Blomkamp and Gunzilla just dropped the first trailer for Off the Grid, which has now been confirmed as a “Battle Royale 2.0” with a sole focus on plot.
The short cinematic trailer for Off the Grid is sure to immediately draw comparisons to Blomkamp’s earlier cinematic works, especially Elysium. The trailer shows a soldier who appears to be the main character, with Deus Ex-style robotic limbs. The soldier even has a blade in his right arm, and his gun grip looks like it’s hooked up to a computer. Needless to say, players in Off the Grid will be extraordinary people with special powers.
Additionally, the trailer also introduces the setting for Off the Grid. The trailer starts off in a jungle area, but then it shows off a huge modern cityscape. It’s unclear how many parts of the jungle and how many parts of the city are on the map, but it is clear that the game will have some skyscrapers for gamers to explore in Off the Grid.
In the description for Off the Grid, Gunzilla Games confirmed that the game is in the cyberpunk battle royale genre. It is also confirmed to be a third-person multiplayer shooter instead of first-person, developed using Unreal Engine 5. Other details make Off the Grid a “Battle Royale 2.0” experience. is that its total players per game will reach 150, as well as the PvE story missions that happen in real time.
It’s unclear exactly how these PvE story missions in the middle of a major PvP battle will affect the gameplay of each match, but it’s clear that Off the Grid is trying to create something unique and Fun for gamers. Blomkamp as well as Crysis 2 lead writer Richard K. Morgan have made the plot progression of these matches a major priority and not just a gimmick.
Even so, Off the Grid is still a battle royale game, which means it will feature standard online multiplayer gameplay mechanics and features, like character upgrades and customization. However, Gunzilla Games only launched in 2020, so it is possible that more aspects of Off the Grid are yet to be made.
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