As I drifted my giant Desert Raptor MKII mech via an expansive desert canyon, crowded filled with rocket-wielding hover bots and gun-toting bandits, I acquired the sense that Bounty Star is likely to be onto one thing particular right here. My mech, assembled from quite a lot of components trying prefer it was inbuilt somebody’s storage (as a result of it was), dispatched these difficult foes with quite a lot of heavy melee assaults and cannon fireplace. It took me a couple of tries to come back out on high, however as I neared the tip of my transient hands-on time, Bounty Star left me keen to come back again to its world later this yr when it launches for Xbox Sequence X|S.
In Bounty Star you play as Clem, a gifted fighter and mech pilot who’s managing some private trauma as a battle veteran trying to make up for a few of her previous actions – and hopefully grow to be a pressure of excellent. Her journey takes place in an space referred to as the Purple Expanse, harking back to what can finest be described as a post-apocalyptic American Southwest.
“I used to be in Sedona, Arizona, surrounded by landscapes very like these within the sport, and I couldn’t assist however suppose how excellent they’d be for an immersive motion sport setting,” explains Artistic Director & Designer Benjamin Ruiz. “The will to create one thing visually gorgeous and set in a good looking desert was actually the spark for Bounty Star. Every little thing began to fall into place from there. I started outlining the idea that very morning, impressed by these breathtaking views. That was about 5 years in the past. It took a yr or two earlier than manufacturing formally started, however the concept was simmering for some time earlier than we actually acquired began.”
Ruiz defined to me that he at all times dreamed of making a Western, and Bounty Star could be very a lot rooted in that style, however mixing a lighter tackle the Armored Core type of mech gameplay that his artistic group loves.
“We actually needed to deal with the on a regular basis lifetime of a bounty hunter,” Ruiz provides. “There’s a base-building facet the place you’re making ready meals, managing assets like clear water, and even elevating chickens — actually digging into the expertise of survival within the desert. We aimed to seek out an thrilling intersection between these components: the enjoyable of a Western, the detailed lifetime of a bounty hunter, and the joys of piloting a mech within the open desert. That’s how Bounty Star got here collectively.”
As I explored Clem’s run-down storage that serves as her base of operations and residential, with energy strains strewn about, a make-shift kitchen within the nook to prepare dinner meals (which may give her stat bonuses in fight), and barrels filled with munitions hiding in plain sight, the world of Bounty Star is mixing a few of my favourite issues about what it might be prefer to stay out this life in a sci-fi Western, giving me robust “Firefly” and “Serenity” vibes the place you don’t have a lot, however what you do have you may name dwelling; it has potential.
Customization is likely one of the different key components of Bounty Star and from what I might inform it appeared open-ended sufficient the place I might both play with any kind of mech that I needed to assemble, offered I had the assets to place all of it collectively. Ruiz bolstered that assumption for me.
“There are a few completely different approaches you may take,” Ruiz elaborates. “You’re at all times going to wish each a melee weapon and a firearm, however you may lean into one or the opposite, relying in your most popular play type. As an illustration, some gamers would possibly deal with heavy armor and cost straight into fight, turning into a gradual however practically unstoppable pressure. Others would possibly want lighter builds, prioritizing pace and agility over sheer toughness.”
As Ruiz defined to me additional, the customization system helps you to tweak round seven core properties and select from quite a lot of firearms, melee weapons, and help methods. He talked about that even among the QA testers have been creating builds that will skip therapeutic altogether, blasting via encounters at excessive pace. So, it appears you’ll have loads of flexibility to create distinctive mech builds and experiment with completely different fight methods when going up in opposition to quite a lot of enemies.
Enemies should not the one factor you’ll encounter in Bounty Star. There will even be a handful of key NPCs you’ll work together with. One in all them is the Marshall, who’s not solely chargeable for assigning your bounties but additionally occurs to be an previous pal. There’s additionally a service provider who affords you among the finest gear out there within the sport, working on the shadier facet of issues and brings a unique vitality in comparison with the Marshall in response to Ruiz. He talked about that general, whereas the solid of different characters isn’t large, those you meet are designed to have significant and memorable interactions with you within the sport.
And one can’t be a bounty hunter with out some bounties, and it seems like there’s going to be all kinds of mission designs to maintain you engaged. Bounties typically work the identical means all through the sport in response to Ruiz. With Bounty Star operating on a day-night cycle, there might be days the place you’ll discover story bounties on the board, alongside a few facet bounties. Every one among these will ship you to a selected a part of the world, which might be distinct fight arenas of assorted styles and sizes.
“Typically your purpose is to seize a specific goal as a result of they’re a needed prison; different instances, you’re tasked with clearing out all adversaries within the space,” Ruiz provides. “Some bounties require you to be extra cautious and apprehend somebody, whereas others are simple fight challenges. There are additionally optionally available targets for gamers who take pleasure in replayability, reminiscent of finishing a bounty inside a sure time or utilizing a selected loadout. Finally, Bounty Star could be very a lot a third-person area expertise, however we’re centered on offering quite a lot of methods for gamers to have enjoyable and strategy every mission uniquely.”
Very like Clem’s makeshift dwelling, Bounty Star appears filled with potential, and we’re trying ahead to seeing the way it all comes collectively later this yr when it launches on Xbox Sequence X|S.
