#GTFO CHECKPOINTS FULL#

“We lowered the overall difficulty on the expeditions a bit old C-tier levels are now D-tier levels, and old B-tier levels are now C-tier levels.” “There was a huge discussion if we should include them because it takes away from the urgency or the hardcore experience knowing that if you die now,” Björkell said. And coupled with the ability to effectively restart missions midway through via the checkpoint doors, I had to ask: did the developers feel like they were compromising GTFO’s identity? Screenshot by Gamepur The first level isn’t a tutorial per se, but the placement and volume of enemies are low enough that most new players should be able to finish it on the first go, if not the second or third. All the other levels have external layers, so you can layer your own difficulty according to your own skill.” “There’s no alternative difficulties on the yellow - that’s what kind of makes them a little special. “We’re trying a new kind of concept in how we build ,” developer Robin Björkell explained. The main, almost “core” missions, are marked in gold, whereas the harder challenges are now separate maps of their own. These would effectively unlock a harder way to complete the same level, usually containing more challenging enemies, mini-bosses, and just more of everything. In previous versions of GTFO, maps would sometimes feature giant bulkhead doors. The difficulty of maps has even been split out.

GTFO’s ‘Rundown’ screen - basically a menu of the maps you can play in any given season - has now been split into two sections. Previously, you’d have to type in old-school HELP commands. The UI has more direct prompts, even going as far as to advise players on what command they need to type specifically. The opening level acts as a tutorial, a void that fans and wiki pages had largely filled over the last two years. Upon firing up a beta version of R6 - or rundown 6, which is largely how the team and community have kept track of GTFO’s evolution over time - there’s a lot more information. Those levels could take an hour, possibly longer, depending on how slowly players nudged and crept their way through GTFO’s lo-fi halls.īut GTFO is selling to a different audience now. It’s almost a betrayal: the very idea of GTFO, one that convinced hundreds of thousands of players to take the plunge, was the sense of accomplishment when you finally completed a level. Doors with checkpoints are marked with a yellow, almost maze-like symbol. So when playing a session with three developers from GTFO’s Swedish creators, my third session with the developers since the beginning of the pandemic, I was awestruck when the developers introduced a new mechanic for the game’s 1.0 launch, checkpoints. And its blend of mechanics and environment is almost catnip for Steam, a platform that regularly surfaces titles with challenging multiplayer experiences. The timing is uncanny given the rise in appreciation for unapologetic difficulty, whether it’s through indies like Cuphead or Tarkov or bigger budget productions like Sekiro and the upcoming S.T.A.L.K.E.R. GTFO has thrived on this idea since late 2019 when it first launched in early access. Each room you traverse is effectively a mini-puzzle, blending into a larger, interlocking complication that repeatedly asks the same question: how will you survive? GTFO has a story, although there’s no direct cut scenes, only snippets of text logs left hidden in DOS-style terminals. Except there’s not really any item permanence. It’s an intensity best described as Escape from Tarkov crossed with the xenomorphic, 70s lo-fi thriller vibes of Alien: Isolation. Much of the map is shrouded in pitch-black darkness, creating neat little jump scares where you’ll crawl forward only for a sleeping enemy to slowly awake inches from your position. Enemies are hidden in deep, thick fog that reduces visibility to a handful of meters. The game literally screams at you every time you open it.

But even before that, GTFO is willfully and deliberately oppressive.

You’re a prisoner, one of four literally dropped into a zombie-infested pit like it’s a horror ride at a theme park. GTFO has no interest in making things easy.

#GTFO CHECKPOINTS FULL#

You never start with a full clip of ammo you’ll frequently never find enough medkits, trip mines, or ammo packs to feel secure. In an industry where the run-and-gun accessibility of games like Left 4 Dead is increasingly popular, the Swedish-made adventure instills caution. GTFO, a co-op survival shooter from 10 Chambers Collective, is something of an anomaly. After two years of enjoying various experiences with GTFO, I thought I was done with surprises.

Gtfo checkpoints