Prologue: Go Wayback! Preview: As it stands, it's difficult to recommend

Recently, we got access to a sort of technical test of the PUBG creator's upcoming survival game, Prologue: Go Wayback! Right now it's free to anyone who asks for a code via Discord, but what the plans for actual distribution are, we don't really know. For now, we can only comment on the game as it stands, both as a standalone gaming experience and as a demonstration of the landscape technology the studio wants to showcase.

"Potential" is a word I use a little too often when looking at games that either aren't out yet or are in Early Access. You know, the kind of game where you can see that there could be something here, but you also have to pick through bugs, flaws, and half-baked ideas just to find the core of a game. That's exactly the feeling I have after playing Prologue: Go Wayback - the latest from the developers behind PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, yes the people behind PUBG. And I have to say that even though this is just a technical test for now, there's still a long way to go.

Let's take it from the top. When you boot up Go Wayback, you're greeted by a screen that basically says: "Hey, this is a tech demo!" And you can feel it. The game presents itself as an attempt to showcase their new system for randomly generated worlds, a bit like Minecraft, but wrapped in realistic graphics and a more serious atmosphere. It sounds cool on paper, and I have to hand it to them: the technology that powers Go Wayback is actually quite impressive. When you start the game, it loads a new world piece-by-piece, complete with its own seed, which forms the basis of the terrain and environment you're unleashed into. And it looks really nice. I mean, when the light hits the treetops just right and the wind makes the grass sway, it can actually do something.

So already; as a technical demonstration of a certain kind of technology it works. But as a game that should have entertainment value, structure and well... something to do, this is where the vices start popping up. There isn't really anything to do in that world yet. The game tells you to get from point A to point B on the map and that's it. No backstory. No characters. No enemies. Not even animals. It's just you, your map, your compass, and the eternal battle against hunger and cold. I spent the first half hour rummaging through an abandoned house I started in. I found a pot, some potatoes, some mushrooms, and then I spent 15 minutes trying to boil the potatoes. It never worked because the interface is a mess and I couldn't figure out how to combine things. I tried using a tap. Nope. Tried putting the pot on the hob. Nope. So I ended up throwing the whole thing on the floor and walked out into the rain on an empty stomach.

And that's kind of what describes Go Wayback best: it feels unfinished. Not just in the way that these kinds of games that are seemingly getting ready for an Early Access launch tend to be. No, this feels more like an experiment. I found out that you can open cabinets and doors with the E key and use the mouse to interact with objects, but the rest I had to guess. No tutorial. No instruction. It's pure trial and error.

So you wander out into the landscape. There are beautiful forests, snow-capped mountains, open plains, and deep valleys, and it's all divided into what they call biomes. But they change a little too quickly. I mean, one minute you're in pine trees and moss, and two minutes later you're in the middle of a tundra. It all feels a bit... clipped together. And yes, it's beautiful in a way, but it's also empty. Completely empty. Like there's not a living soul in this whole world, and it's starting to feel pretty lonely.

I'm not going to lie. I actually started to go a little bit crazy after an hour or so. You gather mushrooms, try to find shelter, light fires (if you can figure out how), and try to keep your character alive. But when there are no enemies, no animals, no threats, and no real rewards, you start asking yourself: "Why am I doing this?"

The few huts and buildings you come across are intriguing at first glance, especially when you walk around with a torch, illuminating the darkness. You get the feeling that something could have been here. But there's just nothing there. It's like finding the body of a horror game where monsters or a story were never implemented. There is no music either. Just wind in the treetops and the sound of rain. And that could be atmospheric, if the atmosphere had any content.

And yes, the game has potential. You can feel it. There are some interesting ideas about the weather system, where rain makes it harder to move and cold sets in if you can't find shelter. It works reasonably well. But it's too difficult to get started because the interface and systems don't help you. The menu system reminds me a bit of what you see in PUBG, and that's not a compliment. The whole thing feels clunky and it really hampers the experience.

I understand that the developers want to show off the technology, and it's also great to see a realistic survival world that is 100% randomly generated. But then again, maybe they should wait to call it a game until there's more 'game' in it. Right now it feels like a sketch. A prototype. A hint of something that might, just might, become something if they stick with it and keep building.

The game is graphically beautiful, but it drives like an old tractor from the former Soviet Union. There's a lot of graphical trickery to pull off in Prologue, but it runs terribly. My frame rate bounced between 60 and even into the negatives until I switched on frame generation. Then it ran more smoothly. However, at no point did it feel quite right. The game simply doesn't seem optimised yet, which is very fitting for the general state of the game. This is rough son!

But until then? Well, no. This isn't worth playing yet, not even as a tech demo via a free key provided by the studio itself. It has potential, yes, but I must honestly admit that it's been a long time since such little entertainment value from a game that I can see so much future in. Strange paradox, but there it is. So if you're extremely curious, seek out a key via Discord, otherwise: Wait. And keep an eye on it. Because if the developers get the content right, and maybe they will, this could be a really exciting experience.