Doofensmirtz Evil Incorporated Game Reviewal Services
"thats some sick beat"
oh no bro
a neato little extraction shooter where earth, just recovering from ecological colapse, is overrun by the "ARC"
the game has a pretty good, but not super deep story. most of it is revealed through cutscenes, trinkets that you can find while topside, and codex entries.
i won't go into much detail here, so go play the game (or watch a playthrough lol) if you want to get all of the story.
the entire game takes place in a spot called "the rust belt" interconnected by a shuttle system.
(although notably when you leave your shuttle, there's no way that you could've exited from; you just spawn lol)
there have been 2 waves of arc in the game: 1 just after the world started to recover from ecological colapse, which were fairly rudimentary, and the current, 2nd wave of arc, which forced everyone below ground to the underground city of toledo. toledo is separated into neighborhoods, and in the game, you live in "speranza".
though speranza isn't entirely self sufficent and needs people topside to gather resources and intel on the arc. those are the raiders, they are not one cohesive entity like a military, it's just a collective name given to those who go topside. as such, raiders may turn on other raiders, or they can choose to be friendly (this is how the PVP mechanic is explained)
there's a bit more to it in the codex, but at least as far as i am in the game, it doesn't get a whole lot deeper. this should be all you need to know for context
the main gameplay loop involves you, as a raider, heading topside and scouting for loot. you have a map with a list of buildings and their loot value, either a free loadout or your own, and a gun of varying quality and rarity.
it's important to note that every gun makes a distinct sound, and... some are A LOT more valuable that others. try not to get killed, if people know you have a good gun, they'll come after you
your main threats are ARC and other players. there are some environmental hazards, but not much. each map are home to its own flavor of arc, though there are some that are pretty persistent everywhere, such as the pop, which... pops (explodes).
different loot has different value for different things. you can find raw materials for crafting, blueprints to make stuff with those materials, herbs and loose parts that can be used for meds, and trinkets without much real use.
some of the trinkets are needed for quests, but a lot of them you just sell for the money.
there's nothing stopping you from getting duplicates, so either keep it as backup, stock up on 'em (for med supplies and boosters), or sell the duplicates.
as is with most live-service games.. there's microtransactions, in the form of decks (if you've played HD2, think warbonds). you can get most of the stuff in the decks without paying buut.. they sure make it clear that they want you to pay up.