Space Beast Terror Fright is a first person shooter game which is currently in Early Access on Steam, developed by Nornware; where you play as a space marine and your mission involves salvaging data from the ships records, destroying the reactor and getting back to safety. Along the way you will encounter countless aliens that can kill you instantly. Your only defence is a high powered assault rifle, although you can use doors to slow the hordes down, and restore power to sentry guns to provide cover. It’s pretty difficult, and when I first got hold of the game, it had two modes: Hard and Hard with additional random breaches of aliens.
It’s surprising how engrossing the experience truly is, the tension that the game provides is unmatched by many horror games I’ve played  over the last few years. In most horror games, something jumps out and goes boo, but in this game there is a real threat, aliens that want nothing more than to munch on your space marine carcass. So when you hear the music cues for the aliens getting ever closer to your position, you really feel the need to get to safety, if anywhere is still safe that is. The rogue like, procedurally generated corridors keep you feeling closed in, keeping in with the atmosphere being delivered.
Along the way, you can earn XP which will give you random upgrades such as faster downloading speed, a larger ammo capacity, maps and motion detectors. I’ve found the least helpful upgrade to be the extra ammo since I rely heavily on the sentry guns to cover me whilst I swiftly move from room to room. Whilst the sentry guns have their uses, they do ru out of ammo, so using them too early can be hindrance later on, when you need to return to your ship.
Space Beast Terror Fright also features split screen co-op of up to 4 players, with Developers Nornware planning to be in Early Access for around six months with a plan to add networked co-op, perhaps looking to introduce AI partners, amongst other things. I’d be very happy with online co-op, since I feel very lonely whilst playing – that’s right, no-one can hear me scream.
I did try out the co-op with a colleague of mine, who tested out their gun on my back, killing me instantly, resulting in some strong words being traded, and restarting the mission. We decided to take different routes in order to prevent team killing, which led to us being able to cover the ship quickly and effectively, however, the one downside was that when she died, she didn’t come back on the next mission. We were unable to recreate the situation, simply because when we tried again and again, we couldn’t finish the mission together. Either a sentry gun would “accidentally” shoot me in the back, or an alien would corner my partner, again resulting in both of us having a few drinks to calm our nerves.
Here is some footage of me trying the game out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHE4Mm2ToU8&feature=youtu.be
Personally, I love the neon blood, the muzzle flash that blurs your vision offering the most intense experience I’ve ever had whilst being a space marine. Check it out guys, it’s definitely worth a look, whilst some of the graphics may need tweaking before its final release, we have the basis of a fantastic co-op shooter. This is what Aliens: Colonial Marines should have been like, maybe Sega should take note of Nornware for their next Alien title.
The Nerd Stash score: 8/10
“Promising space marine game that blows the opposition away.”
Purchase now on Steam!
[review]
