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Generation Zero looks like Stranger Things crossed with Horizon Zero Dawn

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Do you like big robots? Do you like the eighties? Do you like Sweden? Then Generation Zero might just be the game for you.

Avalanche Studios, the team behind Just Cause and the open-world Mad Max game, have just dropped a teaser trailer for their new game, Generation Zero. We could get into the detail, but to start with, it’s probably better if you just watch the trailer.

So, we’ve got Terminator-esque 80s synth tunes, and a setting in rural Sweden in 1989. We’ve got a band of teenage heroes banding together against a thoroughly sci-fi threat, somewhere in the age range between Stranger Things and Netflix’s Dark. And we’ve got whacking great robots, looking like a cross between Horizon Zero Dawn and a collection of Simon Stålenhag paintings.

All caught up? Great. Generation Zero looks intriguing and could shape up into something wonderful.

Interestingly, Avalanche Studios are going to self-publish Generation Zero, and this is their first attempt at the juggling act. They’re keen not to fall into the same tropes as other studios, chasing the big bucks to repay a publisher for their investment.

“As our first self-published action game, there has been no big publishers, license holders or other external stakeholders involved. This is the studio’s game, the team’s game, and my game to an extent that we maybe haven’t had before. We are calling all the shots, but we are also taking all the risks. Some would probably say that an action game with tactical elements set in rural Sweden is a risk in and of itself, as opposed to – say – making a zombie survival battle royale game or something.” – Emil Kraftling, game director, Generation Zero

It’s a busy time for the studio, too; they’ve also working with ID Software on Rage 2, bringing their Mad Max experience to Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic open world shooter.

We don’t have a lot of details about Generation Zero, yet, but we’re quietly excited for this one.


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