As a game enthusiast, what mostly comes to mind when you hear the title: “Population Zero” is a futuristic online video game set in apocalyptic earth. Well, the beauty of Enplex’s Population Zero is that while you’re not entirely correct, you are not exactly wrong either. Enplex is determined to create a game that traverses various realities, a jack of many trades.

Developed and published by a Russian gaming company, Enplex Games, Population Zero blends Exploration, Survival sim, session-based MMO. The game was set for Early Access release on Steam in May of 2020. The players get to explore the alien planet of Kepler in search of resources with which they can build and acquire weapons and armor. However, the planet puts up a fight in the form of diverse monstrous beasts and harsh weather conditions. The player only has one week to fulfill the tasks and get into the hibernation pod before the Sphere resets the entire game. The game suffered a rather disappointing launch in terms of reviews, despite its amazing trailers and hype.

According to developers, the game is set to receive a series of patches and upgrades as the game processes. Although not yet free-to-play, we should expect it to become F2P soon, considering that this was the initial plan. Now let’s explore the Population, the good, bad, and ugly sides to it.

An Engrossing Storyline

The story of Population Zero, although futuristic, began in 1947. On the 1st July 1947, an alien spaceship crashed into the earth. This alien ware sparked the sporadic growth of technology and industry on earth. However, it began to corrupt the earth in no time. We begin to witness hunger, overpopulation, and extreme climate changes. In the middle of these, a powerful corporation brings up that provides a solution to the menace: Colonization of a new planet.

They begin to recruit interested people for this expedition. Once the recruitment was completed, and the ship was ready, the volunteers were sent to outer space aboard the Artemis. Needless to say that the giant Artemis was built using alien technology. Tragedy stroke upon entering Kepler’s orbit, “alien technology failed man,” the ship blew into smithereens. Luckily, the colonists were safely tugged into the hibernation pod; they were thrown into an unknown planet to figure out a way to survive.

The sudden intrusion of the humans forces a once sleeping planet awake; once awake, the planet lets out a fight against the intruders. The humans are soon to realize the harsh reality, which is that humanity’s survival in this newfoundland is threatened. They only have 168 hours before the planet’s radiation, called the Sphere, transforms them into vicious beasts.

Interesting Gameplay

Population Zero gameplay and mechanism takes very much after that of Ark and No Man’s Sky. However, it is not uncommon for MMO survival games to take a strong semblance to another. Luckily, population zero has some distinguishing mechanics of its own.

Like most MMOs, you begin the game from the Drop-Zone, where the tutorial takes place, and players get introduced to the planet’s basics. Thankfully the tutorial can be quite interesting and isn’t too long. However, the tutorial doesn’t seem complete, often riddled with missing sections and a compass that hardly ever works. I could easily overlook this glitch since it’s just a tutorial and is not very detrimental to your gameplay.

Beginning a mission is very uncomplicated. First, you have a conversation with one of the non-playable characters, who then tell you what to do. While the game has both PVE and PVP modes, the game starts purely as a PVE. The game features character development and account level development. To unlock the PVP mode, you first have to complete the PVE missions and then upgrade your account before playing against other human players in the game. 

As you go on, you would get the opportunity to craft your weapons, build houses, gain more access to the storyline, gather more resources, and so on. Death in the game isn’t absolute. For the PVE, the character’s human DNA gets altered every time it respawns. This would go on until the character is transformed totally into a beast known as the Voyda in PVE modes. This automatically translates to defeat; however, this Voyda could be used to terrorize other players in the PVP mode. The only caveat is that as a Vayder, you only get one life – the death of your Voyda is equivalent to defeat. 

Combat in the game involves an h-2-h non-target combat style where hand weapons are allowed, with a limited range of movement. Every weapon used has its own peculiar set of skills, animation, and perks, which can be picked up as you use them and explore the region. Unlike most RPGs, fighting in Population Zero does not give you XP. Instead, you are rewarded with research and knowledge points for exploring the biome and discovering new things- these are very important as you play. 

You must do all these while monitoring your hunger and thirst levels, which depletes very quickly. You always have to feed and water your character from time to time; else, it dies out. The gets worse because you can’t just consume anything. You have to seek clean water sources and take flasks. Each flask holds ten drinks, and you need to refill it before it runs out. The only place where your hunger and thirst bars don’t run low is while you’re in the Hub.

Average Display

Kepler comprises of different biomes, all with distinct features, scenery, wildlife, and plants. However, I must express my disappointment in terms of graphics. Even after setting the graphics to the highest, the picture quality still doesn’t quite feel full. Maybe I just expected too much after watching the trailer of the game. I dare say that the display makes the game look like a low-budget No Mans Sky.

 Thankfully, the developers threw in some beautiful audio to the game. The soundtrack is amazing, and it changes just as you start the game to suit the serious mood which the game requires.

Our Conclusion

Once you get over the disappointment of how that the trailers and teaser videos may have oversold the game to us, you would start to enjoy the game for everything it is. The developers cannot fold their hands yet; there’s much work that still needs to be done to restore the game to its place of glory before the launch. However, thankfully Enplex has offered some form of apology and has restated their commitment to effecting all the necessary changes needed in the near future. 

Population Zero brings an interesting gaming experience, and the race against time gives the game a sense of urgency. A ballsy move, I must say, considering that it could also make players just wait till next week if they lose interest at the moment. Considering that it is still in Early Access, I believe this game would do exceedingly well in the coming future.