Synced

Bleak, dystopian. Two words that give a glimpse at the future Synced offers, but also sum up what it represents in a way. Are all our shooters just heading down this direction, where they have a lot of ambition, a solid premise, and good gunplay, but are dragged down by the relentless monetisation that leaves a bad taste in the mouth no matter how strong the core experience is.

Synced is the new shooter from NExT Studios and Level Infinite. As a Runner in a world overtaken by nanomachines, we are the few who dive into the danger zone of the Meridian. We're in search of resources that can keep us alive as we eek out whatever time we can in a world that is no longer dominated by humanity. But, we're not alone in this life, even if we can't grab a couple of friends to join us in co-op missions. By defeating a Prime Nano, one of the beefy lads we find around the map, we can Sync with them to create our own robot buddy, who can be sent out to fight enemies, or can remain on our arm to give us special abilities like a double-jump.

We're offered both PvP and PvE in Synced, but it seems clear there's a focus on the latter. Either on your own with your Nano, or in a team of three, you can take on set missions in the world, which will often have you wiping out groups of enemies before eventually facing off against a bigger boss. Throughout a level, you can pick up new weapons, and you'll also be building up currency to use at points where you can buy upgrades for yourself, your Nano, or you can spend on extra ammo, medkits, and even better weapons. There's a lot sprinkled in to help break up the monotony of going to one place, shooting a lot of enemies, then going to another and doing the same, but the repetitiveness does creep in at times.

For the most part, the gunplay is solid, if a little simple. Also, some of the upgrades you can pick up just make the PvE an absolute cakewalk. Pretty much anything that causes your bullets to explode will wipe out weaker enemies with ease, meaning there's no chance of you getting swarmed. Saying that, though, there are plenty of ways to give the game a bit of freshness. Pick a new Runner, a new Nano, these options can give you a bit more enjoyment if things start to get a little dull. I was especially impressed by how different the Runners are, and how it doesn't necessarily feel like one of them stands as the best. They're all worth a try, and they're easy enough to learn so you won't feel locked in to whatever you pick.

Synced shines brightest when you're in the big boss fights. This is where I actually met my end, because I wasn't taking the enemy seriously enough, and it was a grim reminder that when you see that enormous boss health bar, you'll need to focus. At least a little. Unlike the regular enemies, which feel like they're defined by whether they fail to shoot you or fail to hit you in melee, the bosses actually have some solid designs, and encapsulate that element of chaos you really want in a game like Synced. In a post-apocalyptic setting, you shouldn't be wondering about how humanity lost because you can shred through Nanos like it's nothing. The boss battles give you those moments worth remembering, the fights were you barely manage to pull your team together after nearly being downed.

Sadly, there are only a set amount of PvE missions in Synced. More will be added in time, along with extra character stories, and extra content, but we can't judge the game by what will be, only what it is now. And so, when you're done with PvE, you're probably going to be tempted to try the PvP mode. Again, you can run solo here or with a team, but the premise is largely the same. In 3 lives, collect as many resources as you can before the time runs out or you run out of attempts. In the PvP, the map somehow feels incredibly lifeless, as it seems the regular Nanos you run into have been scaled back in number. Moreover, the collection of resources doesn't really matter, unless you're aiming for one of the two ships that appear during a match. For 3 minutes, you've got to hold onto one of these things, otherwise you gain nothing. In short, there's no benefit to arriving early, and you may as well wait until the last minute. That promotes camping and less fun ways to play, which is especially so when you've only got a few lives to play with. Again, the chaos is toned back weirdly, when you'd think this is where it should be all-out action.

I do think Synced has potential. Its premise is unique and interesting, its characters are fun to play as and the gunplay remains solid for the most part. However, as of right now it does appear to be quite bare bones. You are getting the game for free, so there's bonus points for that, but those points are immediately countered by the rampant monetisation that hits you right off the bat. It's really hard to figure out what you can even unlock without opening your wallet, and there are pay-to-win mechanics in PvE, which can make matchmaking with randoms a bit of a roulette as you don't know who's going to show up with their fancy golden gun and mow down everything before you.

Perhaps this is one that's worth checking out when more content has been added. For now, it's a fine shooter that we can't see shoving its way into the top spot of the genre.