Exterminauts Turns the Sci-Fi Shooter Formula Into a Blue-Collar Grind
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Behaviour Interactive's Exterminauts is a three-player PvE shooter that swaps out superhero power fantasies for blue-collar alien labor and chaotic corporate contracts.
Video games constantly push us into the role of chosen ones, superheroes, and legendary gods. Behaviour Interactive is flipping that script with Exterminauts, a three-player PvE shooter where you play as an everyday working stiff. Instead of running around in glowing power armor, you wear a standard orange worksuit and take orders from a demanding boss through your headset. IGN recently went hands-on with the game at Gamescom, exploring a universe where you answer to interstellar megacorporations and punch a literal clock before extracting.
The gameplay blends chaotic alien combat with genuine blue-collar tasks. While you battle bizarre creatures like rolling wrecking slugs and flying jellyfish, you also have to zipline across massive structures to fix electrical shorts, weld metal, and turn valves. Creative Director Vincent Regimbald notes that these interactive maintenance points and distinct enemy designs are built to subvert player expectations. You can even use your character's backpack to overcharge heavy weapons or fast-track repairs, adding tactical choice to the hectic environment.
Survival requires tight team coordination, especially when handling simultaneous objectives while under attack from local wildlife. The demo wrapped up with a tense extraction phase, where the squad had to hold out for a dropship while managing accidental friendly fire from heavy ordnance. With weapon mods, passive abilities, and deep customization promised for the full release, Exterminauts shapes up to be a refreshing spin on cooperative shooters that trades cosmic glory for a dangerous 9-to-5 shift.
IGN's preview highlights a five-year development effort that successfully keeps its blue-collar identity front and center. As players increasingly look for cooperative experiences that emphasize communication and shared chaos, this sci-fi job simulator offers a compelling alternative to traditional power fantasies.
Tags: Exterminauts, Behaviour Interactive, Co-op Games, Shooter, PC Gaming
Original article: IGN South Africa