When it comes to fighting off a deadly mutant horde, nobody wants to do it alone. Red Solstice 2 brings forward some of the most challenging maps to date, all designed to be taken on with a big team that can follow a plan. The best way to go about this is with a group of friends the player can strategize with. Who wants to work with bots anyway?
From real-time invitations to experience upgrades, the whole team won't be disappointed when it's time to fight as a unit. With unique perks and a sizeable party working in the player's favor, the co-op has never been so accessible. Survivors is the first game in a long time to reward the multiplayer experience and benefit all who play instead of the host claiming all the rewards.
Party Size
With up to 8 players at a time, each with their role to fill, multiplayer co-op is one of the most collaborative efforts you can experience. Every player can hop from 1 friend's campaign to the next, progressing in the story on their account while unlocking gear and class abilities.
Fighting mutants with other players makes for a much better experience than leaning on bots to get the job done. The effort and tactics are applied at a higher level when the attention isn't split in different directions, especially useful when hordes of enemies are on the offensive. Even in the middle of a fight players can call for backup from their friend list and give the enemy a big surprise.
Ranking Up
One of the best features in Red Solstice 2, the players who join the campaign will bring along all their equipment and research with them. Whoever joins the level won't have to sacrifice their setup and play with their friend's weapons when a less experienced player could call in a veteran to help them out when things start to get a little overwhelming.
From new technology that will help the visual coverage to some added firepower for ground soldiers, there's no replacement for experience. There's nothing worse than playing with the basic loadout when so much work goes into unlocking the real equipment, encouraging players to help out their friends when their weapons can come to the party.
Survival Mode
Blending the single-player and multiplayer aspects of the game, Red Solstice 2 has made regular gameplay and intertwined it with online help. Survival mode will combine different missions with the added obstacle of a deadly virus to contend with, splitting priorities and forcing the team to keep track of even more on the battlefield.
Skirmish mode offers a more extended version of the missions, taking up to an hour to complete a piece. If the squad doesn't show up and the solo options are chosen, it's a fight against some serious stamina draining enemies with only three bots at the player's side.
Class Upgrades
One of the features most affected by multiplayer mode is the progression players have to go through in their chosen class, not only marked by the number of missions completed but specific challenges in the game that players need to beat. Players get forced into changing their team dynamics and the way they play the game, a much easier task when the group can communicate.
Not restricted to Red Solstice 2, most gamers will say that bots in any game leave a little to be desired. They behave in a preset way and don't adapt well to new situations, something that players will need on their side while getting the class tasks completed and working their way up the abilities ladder.
Gear Limitations
While most resources and research can transfer over while playing multiplayer mode, chunks of unlockables in class and weapons systems don't follow along. Players get an advantage in progression and experience levels while taking away some of the fun that could have been if they allowed the full arsenal to come on over.
Luckily, the game has such an extensive list of weapons to choose from that adapting to the available weapons shouldn't be a big deal. Furthering whoever hosts the game's level while racking up experience and rank is a fair trade, granting an 8 for the price of 1 deal that gives an advantage to the entire team.
Multiplayer Design
As much as the game tries to cater to both sides of the coin, Red Solstice 2 revolves around the multiplayer mode with solo being an add-on feature. Right down to the level design, players will slowly realize that everything suits a larger team. The lackluster bots are another telltale sign that the game is trying to push every player to join the party and invite their friends along too.
While this is great if the squad is ready to jump on board, it also means that the solo experience suffers a little. Leaving players in maps that are too big and complex for their 4 man team with novice support, once someone gets a taste of multiplayer mode they rarely return.