New extraction shooters are cropping up everywhere you look at the moment, all aiming to challenge established stalwarts like Hunt Showdown and Escape From Tarkov. One of the most intriguing that’s been on our radar this year is Striden, which takes the typical extraction FPS formula, adds some radioactive Stalker 2 vibes, and lets you transform into a giant bear. Over the festive period, Striden will be opening its doors once again with another demo, but this time it has co-op support.
The basic gameplay loop of Striden isn’t too dissimilar to what you’ve seen in various other FPS games of this nature – scavenge for resources, complete objectives, and extract with your loot before enemy teams or PvE opponents gun you down. However, a mechanic called Power Spikes acts like a hero shooter-style ultimate. Power Spikes let you bond with nature, but not in a wholesome, Disney movie kinda way. Wild beasts become your weapons – you can become a massive rampaging bear, or a moose that pulls a portable cannon that tank enthusiasts in games like Battlefield will surely gravitate to.
The Battlefield-isms extend to the gunplay and the UI which feels very much like EA’s shooter series. There are also distinct classes such as Assault, Medic, and Engineer.
Thematically, though, it gives big Stalker energy. While it’s set in Scandinavia rather than Ukraine, Striden takes place in a Cold War world where the nukes did go off – as a result, you need to watch your step and avoid areas covered in radioactive fog.
In Striden’s new playtest, you can now also jump into matches with co-op support enabled. That means you can assemble your pals and create a squad of up to five players to conquer the nuclear wasteland.
The winter demo for Striden is available right now on Steam and wraps up on Thursday, January 2.
For some more similar experiences, take a look at our lists of the best co-op games and the best apocalypse games.
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