Aftercharge is different, I will start off with that. They recently held an alpha test and our Twitch Manager, Chris Case along with our Videographer, plus myself, were provided with some keys to test the game out.
We were already aware of Aftercharge by talking with Laurent Mercure of Chainsawesome Games at PAX South. The game was on display at the convention and Laurent graciously took some of his time to chat with us on camera and tell us all about the game which you can watch in the video below.
The idea of a team of three invisible and three invincible players going out certainly had me intrigued. In practice, it did not let down. Each side gets a group of four different characters to choose from and the different abilities from the different characters are where the strategy will come into play.
For instance one of the enforcers has your standard FPS rifle and can easily gun down his invisible foes when he catches them. The character also has a grenade that can reveal the opposing team as well as an orbital strike for AOE damage.
Of course not to be outdone the Invisible team has some tricks too mainly abilities the disable or can counteract the Invincible side. Turbo, one of my favorite available to play from the test, does just what his name suggests and can increase his speed when he gets into trouble.
Our first game had us starting off on the side of the Enforcers. This team was the invincible ones.
The game gave a quick rundown of our character and how to play them, plus how to win the game, which as the enforces is to “down” all three of the opposing invisible team at once. It was interesting hunting a foe you can not see, but it is amazing how quickly you catch on to the idea of looking for what isn’t there.
As the goal of the invisible team is to destroy six Energy Extractors around the map it becomes a matter of keeping your head on a swivel as you monitor the energy nodes. There is plenty of catch something out of the corner of your eye and shoot wildly into nothing moment to be had, but we quickly came to terms with how to catch the invisible team in the open and take them out.
When it came time to switch sides I was at first worried that the invisible team was unbalanced. It seemed almost impossible to separate the defenders from the Energy Extractors long enough to hit them and get away before you are seen. However, this is really where the strategy of the game begins to shine.
Communication on our team became key as we would conduct hit and run strikes and feints at other Energy Extractors we were not attacking. Even sacrificing one player so two could take out an Extractor became part of our arsenal.
The more we played the more the idea of unlearning what you have learned became relevant. When playing Aftercharge you can not think about it as a standard FPS game. You have to go deeper and play the game it wants you to play. It wants you to think, it begs you to be clever. The best thing about it is that the game that’s being played is a lot of fun!
I am looking forward to following the development of this one and playing the game at release. If you are interested in following along make sure you check out the Aftercharge Website where you can find more information and also join their Discord server. They are planning more testing events so if you want, get involved and check it out.