In seven days, developer Wolfire Games constructed a first-person shooter, titled Receiver, more interesting than most of the competition. How? By restoring the “power” in firepower.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":476204,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"D"}']Receiver’s design bills itself as an exploration of “gun handling mechanics, randomized levels, and unordered storytelling.” Armed with but a pistol and a tape player, you wander the spartan corporate corridors and passageways of a mysterious complex.
Here’s where Receiver stands out: Its room design and layout changes every time a new game begins. The normally one-dimensional pistol transforms into a lesson in micromanagement, as every part of actually operating a firearm comes into play before pulling the trigger. You’ll need to load bullets in the pistol’s magazine, insert it into the weapon, then cock the hammer — all actions that are performed automatically (sometimes with inhuman speed) in other games but are a completely manual affair in Receiver.
Run-and-gun comes full stop in Receiver as well, for if its army of robotic drones and turret emplacements sink a bullet into you, it’s a permadeath game over. Checking your ammo count involves eyeballing your remaining bullets within a clip, and the absence of a user interface’s comforting presence increases tension within the lonely environment.
Receiver costs $4.99 and is available through Wolfire’s website for the PC and Mac. It also comes free for customers pre-ordering Wolfire’s upcoming title Overgrowth.
