In 2021, an indie studio inspired by Swat has launched a spiritual sequel, Ready or Not. Although the game is in the EA stage, the content and experience in the game does not look like an early development game. The game also dominated the Steam charts for a while. Here I will share with players where Ready or Not is fun.
Game introduction
Ready or Not is a first-person tactical shooter. The game is developed by Void Interactive, a New Zealand independent game studio with about 50 people. The game is mainly based on 5-person teams to perform tasks, and players can choose to play in single-player mode or multi-player mode. The game currently has 8 maps, each of which has a specific game mode: confronting barricaded suspects, conducting a raid, stopping an active shooter, defusing bombs after a bomb threat and rescuing hostages. The studio will also launch maps with schools as the scene in the future. However, this decision was controversial, and even publisher Team 17 terminated their cooperation with them.
The game doesn’t have any tutorial, and players have to figure it out on their own in the headquarters. In addition to meeting rooms for selecting tasks, there are locker rooms and a shooting range in the headquarters. Each player can replace a variety of weapons, throwing objects and equipments. There is also a simulated attacking practice field in the middle for players to practice, so that players can prepare before officially entering the game.
The recoil and feel of each weapon is different, depending on what type of player the player likes. Additionally, each weapon has a different number of magazines. Players can check the magazines and even throw them to their teammates. In addition to deadly weapons, there are also some non-lethal weapons such as beanbags or stun guns, which make the enemy lose their resistance and directly capture them. Players can also choose armor, helmet, and two props. Armor is divided into none, light and heavy.
In the item options, players can choose from flashbangs, tear gas and multi-purpose grenades. Ready or Not’s flashbangs are pretty realistic. If the player is facing the flashbang, the eyes will be instantly blinded for a period of time at the moment of the explosion. Even though the player could see things, his vision was still blurred. The tear gas will gas the enemies within the area making them lose their resistance. Although multifunctional grenades are similar to ordinary grenades on the surface, they are actually filled with particle-sized plastic pellets. After the explosion, the small plastic balls inside also spread to make the hit enemies lose their resistance.
As for the remaining three props are C2 explosives, door plugs and pepper spray. C2 can be used to blast doorways and even damage enemies behind them. Door stoppers are used to block doors to prevent sneak attacks. Pepper spray is similar to non-lethal weapons.
In addition, entry has 4 options. The scouts use the peeping glasses to examine what’s behind the door and let the squad know what’s going on inside. Then, the person responsible for breaking the door can use a breaking shotgun or a ramming hammer to smash the door. These two, although similar, have their own advantages and disadvantages. The door-breaking shotgun can open the door from a distance, but it takes two shots to fully open it. As for the door ram, you can directly slam the door open, but there is a certain risk of being shot to death instantly. The last one is the shield. The shield is mainly to stand in front of the road and help teammates resist bullets.
Players can also choose what helmet they want to wear. Each helmet has different functions: night vision, anti-flash bombs, anti-tear gas or bulletproof masks.
Gameplay
In the confronting barricaded suspects mode, a level of the game takes place in a small area, even divided into floors. Every time you enter the game enemies and hostages will randomly spawn somewhere in the area. Players need to move slowly, rescue hostages and arrest enemies to get high scores. In front of the door, the spy can use the sight glass to look behind the door and make sure there are no trip traps behind the door. If someone is inside, players need to discuss how to get in. In addition, players must report captured enemies or weapons to the top to earn points. These reported scores will be the ones that will be counted after the game is over. The more bad things you do, the more points will be deducted.
The challenge of the game lies in the actions of the enemy. Whenever a player encounters an enemy, they must first warn the opponent to surrender. If the opponent is afraid and chooses to flee, the player can use non-lethal methods to subdue him. Even if the opponent already has a firearm in his hand, he must surrender or raise his gun before making a decision. But the enemy’s marksmanship is strong, whether it is the speed of drawing the gun or the speed of shooting, there is basically no hesitation. Players are also affected when injured depending on the injured part. For example, if a foot is injured, walking will be slow and the player will not be able to kick the door.
Players can also try other modes. In Raid mode, enemies will become more ferocious and there will be a lot of firefights. Active Shooter means that there will be a killer in the game, and players must find the killer in a short time to minimize the casualty rate. In Bomb Threat, the player must find all the bombs within the time limit and dismantle them to free all the hostages. The last mode to rescue the hostages is the most challenging mode in the game, the player can’t make any sound, and can’t give the enemy a chance to shoot. If the enemy hears the movement, they will kill the hostage directly.
Multiplayer experience
If the player finds friends in the multiplayer mode, it will definitely be more exciting. Because in multiplayer mode, what players need more is the trust and understanding between teammates. However, there will still be miscommunication and inadvertent injuries to teammates. Also, the AI behaves rather strangely. The hostage keeps running after seeing the player, and even attracts the attention of surrounding enemies. The enemies in the game are also very strong. Players are often shot to death in an instant when they see an enemy.
Although the difficulty of Ready or Not is relatively high, the game is a lot more friendly, and the game is of a type that is more addictive the more you play. The game will have a lot of updates in the future. The official will launch more new weapons, beautify the mods and improve the game.
Although the game still has some bugs, for a game in the EA stage, the degree of completion is quite high. Since there is so much content the studio wants to produce, it chooses to develop it step by step. For players who like shooting games, this game is worth trying.
