If you’re into sci-fi, don’t go past this game! I thought that Silica was not going to give for more, but I have tried it and it is very ambitious | Top News

Barely 2 weeks ago, the trailer for Silica was shared for the first time, Bohemia Interactive’s new project outside the ArmA saga with a team so small that it only consists of one developer. It freaked me out, why fool us, and after going all out to try it, I was able to do it and I have two clear things now that I’m here to talk about it: you’re going to let it go and for that reason it will be your biggest mistake if you like sci-fi.

Yes, I know, it seems to kill a game before it’s even released, but that’s what happens nowadays with games that appear out of nowhere despite even having a name as groundbreaking as Bohemia Interactive behind it. You’re going to look at it and say, “this isn’t for me,” and you’re partly right because the game is far from complete. It’s a shooter one of those who have things so clear in view of their final release, which is inconceivable that it does not generate hype.

What is Silica and why is it so cool?

That said, I was able to try it just a week after learning that it existed at a closed-door event with other members of the press and its only developer where we were able to taste the benefits of this “space Battlefield”. The idea was to divide ourselves into groups according to the faction we wanted to take —aliens or humans, all of them to play in first and third person—, talk, make friends and, ultimately, lay the foundations of what will be an ArmA-style community. .

Of course, it is not a game that seeks to be a war simulator like that saga. Playing it we realized I think all of us who were there, that’s why the questions in the interview were never directed to the gameplay. We all knew what Martin Melichárekthe person in charge of the game, wants for his project.

Silica has things clear, although play in another league. Better or worse, I couldn’t say, but it has nothing to do with ArmA. Is much more epic, bloody, massive and independent than ArmA will ever be. Still, it’s not a one-man game either. one man army —We also realized that— we must take into account the combat strategy.

And there is a lot of strategy, because Silica is not a shooter conventional: mix shots and real time strategy In a mix that lacks seasoning, but does deliver on what it promises, which is a lot, we are looking at a very good example of this non-traditional mix. Silica takes the same semi-tactical approach of that Commander from Battlefield 4 where with a top down view, while your teammates are in the fray, you can control the delivery of supplies, vehicles, AI allies… This is where the game need you to communicateboth with the team and with the Commander.

It doesn’t reinvent anything, I know, but in the first game we played, without the Commander’s help, we were sold. Vehicles, for example, do not litter the map. It’s not that the setting is urban either, so you can’t expect to find a tank in the middle of the desert. There is no possibility of performing your duties as a “private soldier” well without help from the Commander; Something that also applies to Aliensalthough with more limitations given the logic hierarchical structure that have.

Therefore, the direct contact between the team on foot and the leader, the supreme entity that watches everything from the skies, is fundamental. Once that synergy between the two ranks is achieved, that’s when games go from being a “run around the map” to a Battlefield ersatz. It’s something half way. More drawing to the IP of Electronic Arts than to the shooter Bohemia’s realistic tactician, and that the damage from the bullets is exacerbated, but so typical of this type of game that they don’t clash at all.

Silica is still missing things. It does not have animations for all the actions of the characters; there’s no voice or customization either. It is closest to the concept of early access that you can put yourself in the face, I know. It may be too little for some of you, but with what comes in the future, Silica positions itself as a shooter to keep in mind.

The promising future of Silica, what comes with the early access?

Of course, he still has a lot to say. It’s almost as if Silica is a piece of paper with just a few ideas written on it that are compelling enough to leave you wondering what’s to come in the end. There is a lot to tell about what the Bohemia project will be once it leaves early access, which it will enter shortly:

• Human (or humanoid) soldiers will be able to access a larger list of available vehicles.
• It is planning to incorporate jetpacks or “Star Wars” thrusters to expand the movement of units through the map.
• The aliens they will have a greater variety of types to deal with the differences between races.
• The maps they will see certain modifications. They are currently from 3x3KMbut with the number of players it currently has, it is expected to reduce its size.
• Air combat will be the spearhead of future updates. It has not been specified if the Aliens they will have flying units, but we will be able to deploy troops or fly bombers to offer support.
• The scale will become more important. There are vehicles and units that we already look at helplessly due to their size, but this will be expanded with true beasts to dune scale.
• At the moment, it seems that only the 2 game modes, Arena and Strategy, will be maintained, enough that yes.

I have already told you several times, but this project has something. Maybe I like too much how he seeks to move away from the concept of his big brother (ArmA) — there are already many shooter of the same style, let the genre breathe—. I don’t know, but that something has put him on the radar immediately.