Neill Blomkamp’s darkly funnysci-fi filmDistrict 9left an impact on cinema in a way that few could have predicted. His follow-up films,ElysiumandChappie, cemented Blomkamp’s position as one of the industry’s most interesting creators. Now Blomkamp is making an endeavor into the video game industry with young studio Gunzilla Games. Blomkamp and Gunzilla just dropped the first trailer forOff the Grid, now confirmed to be a cyberpunk “Battle Royale 2.0” with a unique focus on narrative.
The short cinematic trailer forOff the Gridis certain to draw immediate comparisons to Blomkamp’s previous work, particularlyElysium. A soldier or mercenary is shown wearing what at first appears to be a powered exo-suit, but upon closer inspection looks more likeDeus Ex-style cyborg robotic limbs. The soldier even has a blade coming out of his right arm, and his gun-hand looks hooked to computer hardware. Needless to say, players inOff the Gridwill be hyper-powered humans.
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In addition to the player, the cinematic trailer also teases the setting forOff the Grid. The trailer initially starts out in a jungle area, but as the player moves toward the action, it reveals a sprawling cityscape with significant verticality. It’s unclear how much jungle will be on the map versus how much city, but there’s clearly going to be some skyscrapers to explore inOff the Grid. That hopefully means there will be some unique traversal features, too.
In the description forOff the Grid, Gunzilla Games confirms that the game is acyberpunk battle royale. It’s also confirmed to be a third-person multiplayer shooter, rather than first-person. Other details that makeOff the Grida “Battle Royale 2.0” experience are its 150 player total per match, as well as PvE narrative-driven story missions that happen in real time.
It’s unclear exactly how these PvE story mission in the middle of a massive PvP battle royale will impact each match’s gameplay flow, butOff the Gridis clearly attempting something unique and exciting. Bringing in Blomkamp, as well asCrysis 2lead writerRichard K. Morgan, shows that the narrative progression of these matches is a major priority and not just a gimmick.
Off the Gridis still a battle royale game at its heart, though. That means that it will feature standardonline multiplayer live-service gamefeatures and mechanics, like character progression and customization. Gunzilla launched in 2020, however, so it’s likely more information regardingOff the Gridcould be a ways off yet.
