RIPOUT, from developer Pet Project Games, is a Co-op FPS with some solid RPG elements. Set in a bleak SciFi universe where almost all of humanity has been wiped out by a mysterious source, players will venture forth, searching derelict ships and fighting hordes of mutants, seeking out the last remnants of humanity. RIPOUT has just been released into Early Access on Steam and promises players hours of suspense-fill FPS exploration and combat.
While the game is still in early access, RIPOUT offers a fairly polished FPS experience. The gameplay loop revolves around a hub-style system where the player takes up missions and heads out into the galaxy to complete the assigned tasks. The hub itself, a mothership of sorts, offers everything the player needs to unpack additional lore, upgrade and manage gear and customize the look of your character.
Customization is one of the core components of RIPOUT. Even in early access, RIPOUT offers players a lot of freedom to experiment and customize their playstyle. Between missions, you can easily swap out gear, mods and armour, allowing you to cater the experience to your playstyle or the mission. With three-player co-op support currently in the game, players can even specialize their build to help better complement the team’s efficiency. While there are no specific roles such as tank, DPS or heals, mods allow you to lean, at least to a degree, toward these types of roles.
“RIPOUT offers a fairly polished FPS experience even in early access.”
Once you’ve finished selecting your mission and loadout, you’ll head to a shuttle that takes you to the next derelict ship or station. Pet Project has added a lot of nice little details to their world to make it feel alive and engaging. Little things like having the player actually sit in the cockpit while the shuttle docks or having mysterious audio cues play help build a sense of anticipation and suspense before you ever step foot into the mission.
Pet Project has also put a lot of thought into the world-building itself. Everything about the universe you’re exploring feels both unique and right at home in the universe of RIPOUT. Ships, corridors, the mechanical and electronic systems, all of it feels alien and yet just familiar enough to feel like some distant future. It’s a great setting that emphasizes suspense and a feeling of mystery.
With that being said, at the moment, levels do feel a little bit repetitive. This is, at least in part, due to the early access nature of RIPOUT. However, it is something I hope the Devs continue to flesh out. While I love the setting and world they’ve created, it will be important to offer fresh layouts and level design to keep players engaged over the long haul.
“Combat feels tight and responsive, offering challenge for FPS veterans without alienating new players.”
Another important aspect of replay is combat. In the case of RIPOUT, Pet Project has done a great job of taking the familiar tropes of FPS combat and making them their own. Combat feels tight and responsive and offers some nice challenges for veterans of the genre without alienating new players. Pet Project also does a great job of balancing combat with exploration, again building on the ever-present suspense present in each mission.
One of the highlights of the combat experience is the inclusion of what Pet Project calls the pet gun. This alien-like attachment to your primary weapon acts as both a damage-dealing pet as well as a temporary booster in combat. The ‘pet’ has the ability to temporarily steal abilities/mutations from enemies and imbue the player with them. This helps keep things fresh during enemy encounters and gives the players a plethora of options for engaging their foes.
This is complemented further by the infrequency of ammo found in levels. While not to the level of many horror games where you can count your ammo reserves on one hand, RIPOUT does make ammo feel scarce enough that it forces you to be creative when engaging the mutants you encounter. All of this further builds the overall feeling of suspense of RIPOUT.
“With 10 mutant types and 8 critters, there are essentially 80 variants of the mutants you’ll engage, keeping the experience unpredictable.”
Speaking of enemies, Pet Project has added an interesting twist to enemies in RIPOUT. While you will come up against a consistent assortment of enemy types, they can mutate before your eyes thanks to critters scurrying around the levels. At the moment, there are 10 mutant types with 8 critters, resulting in what is essentially 80 variants of the mutants you’ll engage. This is a fun addition to the standard FPS fair, and with the transformations happening as you’re fighting, it further helps keep the experience feeling fresh and unpredictable.
While all of this is impressive and has made for a fun, replayable experience, RIPOUT still has some work to do. As mentioned, at this point, level layouts feel a bit repetitive. Additionally, while there are some great elements that help build suspense in combat, at present, the game relies heavily on jump scares. While I appreciate a jump scare as much as the next guy, it’s easy to become immune to the effect, especially when there isn’t any immediate threat associated with the jump scare.
Another area that will continue to benefit from further development is the mission types. There are a few unique ones at present, and while fun, they do begin to feel repetitive as well. However, Pet Project has stated in its early access road map that it plans to offer more mission types as the game progresses.
RIPOUT, from Pet Project Games, is an FPS title that has a lot of promise. With fairly polished combat and progression systems in place, RIPOUT is already shaping up to be a solid co-op experience. Throw in some great world-building and set pieces, and it’s already a fun, engaging playthrough. If Pet Project can deliver on everything it hopes to RIPOUT will be a great game for you and your friends to dive into.
