For the past handful of weeks, content creators have been going stream crazy over a sparsely-distributed game called Islands of Nyne. In it's initial alpha release phase, the game's server had roughly only 12 players max. Games were few and far between, battles were short, and jumping into a game took awhile as people would often wait in the "shooting lounge" for enough players to jump online. Regardless of the rough state that the servers and the game itself might be in, the game has gotten mad attention from streamers like sp00nerism. What's the nature of the gameplay?
Islands of Nyne, or IoN for short, is poised to take on PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds as the next hottest Battle Royale fragfest. I'll admit--I don't like BR games. I love IoN. It combines the battle royale design trend with a more fitting sci-fi experience, mixing beautiful, almost homey landscapes with what appears to be a kind of alien invasion, dropping pulsating mechanical installations and strange lights in the middle of familiar colonial settlements. There are small homes, shacks, stone-founded installations with crumbling architecture and an ancient feel, and even a Roman colosseum to explore. In contrast, the alien structures have glowing conduits, steam-blowing engines, and an architecture that just reeks of coolness. That's just one of the maps that IoN has in development. There are total of three planned. Here's hoping there will be more added, although the maps are so large to begin with that every playthrough feels as if you've landed in another map entirely.
Each map has a potential max of 100 players. Lately, games have run well with over 30 and sometimes 40 survivors. More than doubling that population will make matches far more intense than they already are. What's returned from previous games is the "restriction dome," or plasma field that shrinks as the battle goes on, eventually trapping people inside of a fragfest micro-arena. Battles aren't too long, with each bout lasting approximately 15 minutes. Players are placed at random over the play arena and land "vampire" style into the ground armed with only a knife. It's up to their wits and skills to fight and survive to be the lone contender. The included map is intuitive so players know where the safety zone is at all times.
The weapons are a little limited with the alpha build, but the devs from Define Human Studios will introduce medieval weaponry as the game keeps developing over time. Currently, there's a pistol, desert eagle, shotgun, two SMGs, an assault rifle, and a sniper rifle with potential addons--lasers, scopes, ACOGs, and similar ilk. There's not much of a sci-fi feel to these weapons, but they seem a little more pleasant than offerings out of previous BR games. To add, BR games haven't always been about the weapons either. And if you're wondering, yes, team mode will be an option in the future. It remains to be seen if there will be vehicles, but I'm crossing our fingers over here. To add, yes there is a VR build in development as well. Call me excited.
This game was a pleasant surprise that finally has a strong but small voice backing it. As before, I'm not a fan of Battle Royale, but this game is turning the tides for my tastes. I'm happy to be a part of it's community. The servers have been shut down temporarily for the developers to address issues, but they promise they'll be up soon, probably still sticking to weekends only until the game is graduated into beta. Take a look at the Kickstarter page and get ready to enter the dome, player. Islands of Nyne is fun even in it's current alpha state, and this game is looking to compete against other BR games in the long run. Check the video for awesome times.