Recently, I tried out a survival video game known as Unturned 3.0, developed in Canada by a single person, Nelson Sexton. In a lab experiment gone wrong, a dubious biotechnology organization known as Scorpion Seven “accidentally” unleashes a horrific mind-melting plague which rapidly spreads around the world. Among billions infected, only a tiny minority survive by immunity or isolation. These individuals, known as the Unturned, fight to liberate the world from the plague.
As one of the Unturned, you are dropped into a very low-poly world of hostile, zombified citizens. You are given the option to play all around the post-apocalyptic world, from the icy Yukon to balmy Hawaii, and each area presents unique challenges, from wild animals to deadly nuclear radiation–I actually died from both simultaneously at one point (don’t ask how). I love the depth of research that went into development of historically and culturally specific storylines for each map, which can be pieced together via journals and notes found everywhere from grocery stores to top-secret military complexes.
With thousands of other real people playing around the clock, you’re given the choice to survive with others or go it alone. One awesome feature of the game is distance-calibrated voice chat that simulates the travel of real sound, which I think adds some much-needed immersion to a multiplayer game with abysmal graphics.
Within minutes of starting up the game, I came across a team of three people in the Black Forest of Germany, all dressed in military garb. I followed them through the woods under a full moon, hoping that they would lead me to some good food and water, which I desperately needed. One of them caught on that I was following them and, to my surprise, offered me a place on their team. I traveled with Trey, Loco, and Pasta on all sorts of perilous adventures, from Berlin to Stuttgart. All of this traveling takes a lot of time in Unturned, especially when traversing a large map on foot. I like that it adds realism, but I also don’t want to spend 75% of my play time just walking around.
Eventually, Trey and Loco decided to hike south, leaving Pasta and myself in northern Germany. Because the game uses realistic sound travel, Pasta and I were unable to contact the other two in the event of an emergency, which made splitting up very risky. Pasta had a semiautomatic rifle, but he needed it for protection against the infected, I told myself. We both agreed that, for our final trip of the night, we’d go searching for supplies in Munich.
When we arrived at the Munich police station, we began to clear out the infected from the area, searching the station for clothing and ammunition as we went. I happened upon a wondrous item, known as the Stealy Wheely Automobiley. It allows the user one chance to unlock the door of any vehicle in the game, a feature which I really like because it keeps vehicles from staying solely in the hands of the most powerful players.
Pasta asked me if he could have the item. I politely refused his request, and before I could finish my sentence, I was loaded up with lead from his rifle. While the graphics of the game are entirely unrealistic, the sounds are entirely real, and there’s nothing like hearing thirty rounds fired point-blank in stereo when you aren’t expecting it. I literally fell out of my chair in a mixture of laughter and surprise, and that was just the first of several times. I know these impromptu adrenaline rushes aren’t for everyone, but for me, they’re a must-have feature.
When the other team members returned from their expedition to find me dead, they decided that Pasta should be killed in retaliation. Pasta was confronted and a firefight ensued–all three of my ex-teammates died as a result, either instantly or from bleeding out. I think more games should incorporate this sort of bleeding mechanic in their combat systems, since it allows the defender to potentially stop the attacker, even if the attacker has the element of surprise.
It only took some flashy pixels to rip our team of four apart (figuratively and literally). While most players are friendly at first, for many, basic survival isn’t enough – the temptation for surplus and luxury plagues us all, and I think Unturned does a great job of exposing the moral and ethical highs and lows that exist in the real world. If you play this game, I guarantee that you will come away with a different view of the human mind–and you just might discover something terrifying about yourself.