GTFO Review – The Great Escape

Turtle Rock Studios was instrumental in the creation of the squad-based cooperative genre Left 4 Dead, and Back 4 Blood. 10 Chamber Collective is a group of ex-Payday developers who were undoubtedly inspired to create the zombie-slaying franchise. In truth, the studio’s debut project, GTFO, is Payday meets Left 4 Dead, but with a deliciously dangerous learning curve. GTFO’s satisfying mix of tactical action and all-encompassing uneasiness will likely appeal to FPS fanatics yearning for an electrifying challenge. And now that its two-year Early Access period has ended, 10 Chamber Collective’s survival horror shooter might reach a wider audience. What does this mean for the final version? GTFO, even though it is repetitively looped, manages to be a unique thrill ride that still offers a lot of fun.

My four-player crew is held captive by an entity called “The Warden,” who forces us into an underground facility known as “The Complex” to retrieve miscellaneous items that help uncover the truth behind a devastating virus consuming the Earth. It’s immediately apparent that GTFO’s best quality is its oppressive tone. Runningdown 6.0 is the most recent series of expeditions and an assault on all the senses. From the claustrophobic plummet at the start of each mission to The Complex’s discombobulating layout of laboratories and dig sites, every component of GTFO’s gameplay is inundated with high-stakes tension. Early expeditions (listed in increasing difficulty by the lettered tiers A-D) offer vague tutorial details – locate the objective, proceed to the specified zone, survive an alarm-raising door scan. The Complex makes these instructions almost non-existent. These grotesque and fleshy humanoids are extremely sensitive to light, sound, and light. They sleep in darkness. Doomsday situations can be created by sudden movements and flashlight misclicks. This is something I value. This is especially true when extracting at higher levels of rundown makes it more difficult.

Preparing for the next expedition took up a lot of my game time. Loadout balancing is essential in GTFO, and it’s a good thing that each prisoner can come equipped with two firearms, a melee weapon, a heavy-duty tool, and double-edged buffs called “boosters.” GTFO rewards stealthy approaches and meticulous planning, so I usually bring a knife to silently take down unaware “sleepers” while also referring to my bio tracker tool to record enemy positions. You can also find cool gear like blunt weapons or foam launchers to slow down rampaging targets/glue doors shut, and auto sentries that will buffet pesky flankers using tungsten rounds. Each prisoner feels like an army of one with boost effects such as higher damage or specified resistances. It is not easy to vanquish monsters using synchronized melee strikes in order to create fortified defenses against incoming enemies. Even so, when each player is attentive and utilizing equipment effectively, GTFO’s squadrons of disparate parts suddenly feel like well-oiled machines.

Launching expeditions with friends is the best way to experience the terrifying mayhem, and GTFO’s team-centric exploration mechanics are proof of this. I’d share medical packs and munitions sprinkled throughout the map with less fortunate companions – that one shotgunner always taking hits on the frontlines or the distant sniper consistently low on ammo. Tools that are paired well can be very rewarding. Mining equipment placed on foamed gateways could exterminate entire armies and allow the team to use resources to support creatures with larger health pools. I love the moment when the group emerges from the room unscathed. It is one of my favourite moments in GTFO.

There was so much more. Scouring predominantly pitch-black settings to collect artifacts (boosters) or locate far-off terminals and other bland objectives grows tiresome. There are many enemy types, including worm-like appendages and energy blasts as well as tentacled wings. This keeps things fresh. However, once you learn important coordinates most of the terrifying magic has been stripped away. There are some interesting environment puzzles in the command consoles (interactive parasers), which allow me to find and ping crucial items such as key cards. However, experienced players tend to ignore computers and render them useless. And when matchmaking, trolls and/or quitters make playing through hours-long expeditions infuriating. Rundown 6.0 provides competent bots who can be directed and checked at merciful times to resolve these issues. However, there’s nothing more disheartening than watching a trigger-happy stranger queue into a D-level mission with the intent of getting their whole team killed. Finding success is downright punishing if you don’t have a dedicated group.

GTFO might grow stale the more hours I pour into it, but 10 Chamber Collective’s rundown updates function like seasons and are guaranteed to introduce new levels and primary/secondary goals to complete in the coming months. While the arsenal of shotguns, SMGs pistols, assault rifles, and shotguns feels the same, the gunplay can leave a lot to be desired. However, it is satisfying to coordinate stealth runs with others. The guttural screeches from enemies can be bloodcurdling in engagements. Dark backgrounds limit my viewlines, and they keep me on my toes. GTFO isn’t for the faint of heart. The fear of death makes it possible to re-strategize and improvise, which can be a frustratingly missing feature in many cooperative shooters. If you’ve been craving an FPS that tests your critical thinking and mechanical skills, then GTFO might just be the perfect hidden gem to satiate that ravenous hunger.