As I drifted my giant Desert Raptor MKII mech via an expansive desert canyon, crowded filled with rocket-wielding hover bots and gun-toting bandits, I obtained the sense that Bounty Star could be onto one thing particular right here. My mech, assembled from quite a lot of components trying prefer it was in-built somebody’s storage (as a result of it was), dispatched these difficult foes with quite a lot of heavy melee assaults and cannon hearth. It took me a couple of tries to come back out on high, however as I neared the tip of my temporary hands-on time, Bounty Star left me keen to come back again to its world later this yr when it launches for Xbox Sequence X|S.
In Bounty Star you play as Clem, a proficient fighter and mech pilot who’s managing some private trauma as a conflict veteran trying to make up for a few of her previous actions – and hopefully turn into a drive of fine. Her journey takes place in an space generally known as the Crimson Expanse, harking back to what can finest be described as a post-apocalyptic American Southwest.
“I used to be in Sedona, Arizona, surrounded by landscapes very like these within the recreation, and I couldn’t assist however suppose how excellent they might be for an immersive motion recreation setting,” explains Artistic Director & Designer Benjamin Ruiz. “The need to create one thing visually beautiful and set in a lovely desert was actually the spark for Bounty Star. Every thing began to fall into place from there. I started outlining the idea that very morning, impressed by these breathtaking views. That was about 5 years in the past. It took a yr or two earlier than manufacturing formally started, however the thought was simmering for some time earlier than we actually obtained began.”
Ruiz defined to me that he all the time dreamed of making a Western, and Bounty Star could be very a lot rooted in that style, however mixing a lighter tackle the Armored Core type of mech gameplay that his inventive group loves.
“We actually wished to concentrate on the on a regular basis lifetime of a bounty hunter,” Ruiz provides. “There’s a base-building side the place you’re getting ready meals, managing sources like clear water, and even elevating chickens — actually digging into the expertise of survival within the desert. We aimed to search out an thrilling intersection between these parts: the enjoyable of a Western, the detailed lifetime of a bounty hunter, and the joys of piloting a mech within the open desert. That’s how Bounty Star got here collectively.”
As I explored Clem’s run-down storage that serves as her base of operations and residential, with energy traces strewn about, a make-shift kitchen within the nook to cook dinner meals (which can provide her stat bonuses in fight), and barrels filled with munitions hiding in plain sight, the world of Bounty Star is mixing a few of my favourite issues about what it might be wish to reside out this life in a sci-fi Western, giving me robust “Firefly” and “Serenity” vibes the place you don’t have a lot, however what you do have you possibly can name house; it has potential.
Customization is among the different key parts of Bounty Star and from what I may inform it appeared open-ended sufficient the place I may both play with any sort of mech that I wished to assemble, supplied I had the sources to place all of it collectively. Ruiz strengthened that assumption for me.
“There are a few completely different approaches you possibly can take,” Ruiz elaborates. “You’re all the time going to want each a melee weapon and a firearm, however you possibly can lean into one or the opposite, relying in your most popular play type. For example, some gamers may concentrate on heavy armor and cost straight into fight, changing into a sluggish however almost unstoppable drive. Others may favor lighter builds, prioritizing pace and agility over sheer toughness.”
As Ruiz defined to me additional, the customization system permits you to tweak round seven core properties and select from quite a lot of firearms, melee weapons, and assist programs. He talked about that even among the QA testers have been creating builds that will skip therapeutic altogether, blasting via encounters at excessive pace. So, it appears you’ll have loads of flexibility to create distinctive mech builds and experiment with completely different fight methods when going up in opposition to quite a lot of enemies.
Enemies are usually not the one factor you’ll encounter in Bounty Star. There will even be a handful of key NPCs you’ll work together with. One in every of them is the Marshall, who’s not solely answerable for assigning your bounties but additionally occurs to be an outdated pal. There’s additionally a service provider who presents you among the finest gear accessible within the recreation, working on the shadier facet of issues and brings a unique vitality in comparison with the Marshall in line with Ruiz. He talked about that general, whereas the solid of different characters isn’t enormous, those you meet are designed to have significant and memorable interactions with you within the recreation.
And one can’t be a bounty hunter with out some bounties, and it feels like there’s going to be all kinds of mission designs to maintain you engaged. Bounties usually work the identical method all through the sport in line with Ruiz. With Bounty Star operating on a day-night cycle, there can be days the place you’ll discover story bounties on the board, alongside a few facet bounties. Every one in all these will ship you to a particular a part of the world, which can be distinct fight arenas of varied sizes and shapes.
“Typically your purpose is to seize a specific goal as a result of they’re a wished felony; different occasions, you’re tasked with clearing out all adversaries within the space,” Ruiz provides. “Some bounties require you to be extra cautious and apprehend somebody, whereas others are simple fight challenges. There are additionally non-obligatory targets for gamers who take pleasure in replayability, reminiscent of finishing a bounty inside a sure time or utilizing a particular loadout. In the end, Bounty Star could be very a lot a third-person enviornment expertise, however we’re centered on offering quite a lot of methods for gamers to have enjoyable and method every mission uniquely.”
Very like Clem’s makeshift house, Bounty Star appears filled with potential, and we’re trying ahead to seeing the way it all comes collectively later this yr when it launches on Xbox Sequence X|S.
