Generation Zero

Generation Zero for PC is a post-apocalyptic game set in an alternative reality Sweden in 1989, when killer robots have overrun the world. Play is from a cooperative first person shooter perspective and is set in an open world that positively invites exploration.

About the Game

The game’s graphics are beautiful and have been compared to the artworks of digital artist Simon Stalenhag although both the artist and the game developers have said that this is an accidental coincidence.

Players can choose their ‘type’ as a character, with choices defining him or her as a ‘jock’ or a ‘nerd’ or a ‘punk’ – whichever your 80s vibe feels most comfortable with! While it is clear that your mission is to find out what happened and who caused the invasion as well as looking for survivors, should there be any, you are not tied to following a strict progression.

You can choose your own path, exploring the world in your own time and following the story as and when you choose to. This makes for a more dynamic gaming experience as you can perform those tasks that interest you, rather than being funnelled along a tight story arc with no time or leeway to explore.

The way gameplay is set out actively encourages this. There are no map markers to aim for: instead you explore your environment and engage with it, discovering map fragments, or short missions which, when complete, give you a hint about what to do next – when you feel like it!

Ways to Play

Single player involves the player taking on the persona of a Swedish teen returning home after a trip away, only to find that his home has been taken over by the killer robots. He seeks to avoid their lethal attentions even as he battles to find out what happened to his family.

In cooperative play, the player can team up with three friends – or strangers – to work together to uncover the mystery of what happened to the inhabitants of the house. As always, this provides a great opportunity for camaraderie and banter as you work together to defeat the machines and solve puzzles to find information.

Fun Facts About the Game

The game designers based the location on their own childhood memories of playing in the Swedish forests. This gives the game’s setting an eerie realism as well as a spectacularly sinister vibe instantly recognisable to anyone who played in such surroundings as an imaginative child when a monster could lurk behind every tree

There are six different kind of robots – most of them lethal, but some more so than others! See if you can get them all in one game

Husband your ammunition is a key tip. While loot is reasonably plentiful, it is still very possible for the unwary to run out of ammo, leaving them at the mercy of the mechs, as the killer robots are known, until they can restock

Use one of the massive 80s-style boomboxes as bait. Mechs are always curious about noise and you can leave one playing as you set up an ambush for them. Or, if you are about to be trapped, you can lob one off to the side and make a sneaky escape as your assailants run off to see what all the commotion is about

The more advanced robots have armour: if you can damage or remove the armour, the robots are much easier to knock out of commission

Generation Zero for PC is available for purchase on Instant Gaming for a fraction of its retail price. You will receive an official key and be able to play the game in seconds. Play smart. Pay less.