When it comes to first person shooters, I’m the kind of guy that likes his FPS’s just meat and potatoes. I wasn’t a big fan of the build a base battle royal format of Fortnite or PUBG, but I am a fan of Neil Blomkamp and his “District 9”, “Chappie” and “Elysium” cinematic worlds that he created, which is why I decided to give “Off The Grid” a fair shake. I liked the dystopian cyberpunk style of OTG that has become Blomkamp’s signature look. The game is developed by indie developers Gunzilla and is still in its open beta testing phase, so not all of the content is available. That being said, I’m going to give you my thoughts on the game as it stands now.
What’s the Gameplay like in OFF THE GRID?
As I mentioned, “OTG” is still an open beta early access version with a real release date slated as “sometime in 2025” for ps5, Xbox One, and PC.
Early access is just a sampling of what’s to come in this 150 multiplayer game and a 60 hour single player narrative, which are definitely two unique gameplay elements.
The Main story of this game is still under wraps but so far the premise seems to be that players are part of a “Survivor”/“The Running Man” type television show where all of the contestants agree to have their bodies surgically altered, having their arms and legs replaced with cybernetic replacements. This gameplay element is very similar to “Elysium”, where in that movie people could have a cybernetic augmented exoskeleton system “installed” on them to give them super human strength and abilities. “Off The Grid” is taking that concept to a deeper level in a video game.
Currently players are grouped in teams of three and our airdropped into a futuristic dystopian city. Players are tasked with gathering Loot out of the many drop boxes that are scattered throughout the game map. These boxes contain ammunition, health, guns, as well as cybernetic limbs.
Players need to be careful because they can have these limbs damaged or blown off in battle. If a player is killed another player can claim their legs or arms for themselves. If a player is revived and they have lost their legs they will have to crawl around and look for another pair. Sometimes it’s just better to die in combat than to go on living…ask Lt. Dan.
Players are also supposed to locate Hex’s which are located in big red boxes and extract them to gain even more GUN tokens, skins, weapons, and limbs. Players must stay alive during the extraction to redeem the reward. Players that are killed will respawn after a timer as long as one of the players teammates is still alive.
The cybernetic limbs grant additional bonuses in game like a frenzy run, an exaggerated jump, leg mortars, invisibility, or allow the player to grapple from low ground to high ground.
All players have a Jetpack that allows them to boost and glide in the air, there are no parachutes, and players can pancake themselves into the ground if they don’t use their jet pack properly…just saying, it can happen.
If players can time their climbs and jumps, they can activate their Jetpacks to gain additional ground. It’s a good strategy for players to learn how to navigate a map by climbing, jumping, and using their jet pack to gain the most distance. Some of the cybernetic limbs allow the players to completely cloak themselves until they start attacking, which is another technique that can be utilized with some practice. The fact that players only have two limbs limits them from being overused, and they all have a cool down timer.
The game map does shrink after a period of time, causing the players to have to relocate and move towards the center of the map or being killed by the red electric fence. There is a backpack in game that prevents the player from being killed by the fence but they still take damage and will eventually die.
Players have the ability to customize the appearance of their character by adding accessories like glasses, hats, facial wear, outerwear, inner wear, and jet pack, as well as choosing the characters gender.
What’s the in game currency in OTG?
GUN tokens is the name of the in game currency and what players need to purchase accessories, limbs, and guns. Players can subscribe to OTG Pro to unlock additional content packs, x5 earn increased GUN rate, 5 extra loadout slots, ability to sell items on the marketplace, PRO status badge, and Clan tags for 11.99 a month! Steep.
What kind of Weapons are in Off The Grid?
Weapons in OTG are standard to this type of games with assault rifles, SMG‘s, light machine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, marksman rifle, and side arms. Each of these weapons has a common, uncommon, rare, and epic classification which makes them worth more GUN tokens and their attributes are better.
The same goes for cybernetic arms and limbs.
Limbs
One of the more unique elements of OTG, when it comes to a first person shooter battle Royale game, is that your limbs are useful in battle. Players have to rank up to unlock limbs, they can purchase them with GUN tokens, or get them from Hex’s found in game. Players can earn additional gun tokens by completing daily challenges and tasks that are seen on the “play” loading screen.
Cybernetic Arms:
Each arm has an individual attribute and cannot be duplicated, meaning of player can’t have two “Ghost” limbs. Ghost allows players to cloak themselves in invisibility for a short period of time in order to get the drop on their opponents. All of these attributes have a cool down timer, so players have to think about using them strategically when activating these powers.
One of the arm attributes that I think is most critical is the “Hookshot” arm. This gives players a grappling hook that they can deploy in order to reach higher ground. This comes in handy during firefights when players need to make a quick escape or to get a tactical advantage over their opponents by getting the higher ground. The grappling hook along with the Jetpack is a useful skill players should spend some time mastering. The hookshot and ghost combination is my favorite.
Cybernetic Legs
The players legs also give players a bonus but currently there’s only one attribute for a pair of legs, not like the individual arms. Maybe this can be changed in the future full release of the game. After all, no pair of legs is the same, and I know my left leg has been gimpy since a high school sports injury, so I think each leg should be counted as one, but that’s just my opinion.
The two most useful leg attachments are the “Leapers” which gives the players a bigger jump. Using this jump, with hookshot, and good jet pack control can make one a formidable opponent.
Another favorite of mine is the “Roadrunners” leg attachment, which allows players to have a burst of electromagnetic speed in battle for a short duration of time, which can make them almost impossible to hit. Players, both teammates and opponents, can use the lightning trail to increase their run speed too.
What are Loadouts in “OTG”?
Loadouts are where players can assign their preferred limbs, weapons, and consumables to be used in battle, there is a cost to have these loadouts deployed depending on what and how many items the player is calling into battle. Players have a primary weapon, secondary, sidearm, a left and right arm, legs, a consumable, and backpack to assign. The backpack slot gives the players additional inventory slots as well as addition attributes like automatic gun reloading or faster limb charge rate. Players can have multiple Loadouts, up to 3 for non-Pro players.
What is the Market place in Off The Grid?
The marketplace is another unique feature to OTG. The game marketplace is where players can purchase the guns and attachments that they want for a set gun token price but also, Pro Players in the marketplace are able to list items for sale that they won in game for gun tokens. Players must be a pro member to list their items on the marketplace, anyone can buy. All of the weapons and their ranks came be purchased on the marketplace if the item isn’t being sold by a player.
What are there Emotes in OTG?
One of the more popular features of battle Royale gameplay in recent years has been the addition of emotes. These are animation triggered actions that the player can initiate during gameplay. These can be anything from having their avatar give a thumbs up to doing little dance move. Some of these emotes have become so popular that they become Internet memes and TikTok dance sensations. Off the Grid takes this a little bit further, all while sticking with the dystopian setting of the game. With the special edition content pack players can look like Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. These politically themed avatars emotes fit their political agenda. For instance, Donald Trump has a “Keep Them Our” emote, where he builds a wall and taunts players from the other side of it. People should note that there is a disclaimer at the bottom of the preview screen that says Off The Grid doesn’t support any political candidate as neither of them “aligns with their values and beliefs.”
What are the Cash tournaments about in OTG?
Off the Grid is putting their money where their mouth is by offering Daily Cash prizes to the top 10 players on the Off The Grid leaderboards. First prize gets $1000 while 10th place gets $50.
Rules:
- Players must be 18
- The top 10 players must register, verify, and claim their prize. Players register on the official OTG website
- Prizes must be claimed within 2 days of winning.
- The contest runs from 20:00 UTC to 04:00 UTC.
- Cheating or Codes of Conduct violations will result in the players disqualification.
Overall what do I think of OTG?
Off the Grid is a less twitchy entry into the battle royale genre than its predecessors and I’m grateful for that. It’s a more adult version of the genre that doesn’t waste time having players build shelters or hiding for long periods of time to win the game. The more a player moves the more likely they are to find Hex’s and that’s where the real prize is in “Off the Grid”. I’m really curious to see what the narrative story gameplay is like being that Neil Blomkomp is the creative behind this project. Given that fact, and the gameplay is entertaining and not lopsided in skill set vs. experience, so far, makes this a game that I will be playing once it gets it full release.
