Dead by Daylight developers Behaviour Interactive gave us an extended look at what they’re cooking up next, and it couldn’t be anymore different. Meet Your Maker is set in a sort-of rustpunk post-apocalypse where the last survivors of the human race shoot and slice each other to get their hands on the most precious resource imaginable: pure genetic material. The setting is maybe the most mundane thing about this game though. Design-wise, it hopes to blend two seemingly incongruent genres to make a truly unique online experience.Meet Your Maker is really two sub-games in one: a base-builder and speedy dungeon shooter. In the first bit, you build your outpost full of winding paths and traps like bomb ejectors and spiked walls to keep the genetic material prize safe from incoming player-raiders. From the footage it’s tough to see just how big these things can get, but they appear to be massive. There are also several different materials you can build with, but we can’t say for sure what the benefit of one would be over another. When you’re done creating your death fortress, you can populate it with AI guards that can handle various forms of gunslinging and bladeswinging to stop oncoming raiders in their tracks. You can even set the paths they patrol on. All very cool and creative stuff.This seems like A LOT to learn, though. It feels like so much trial and error is involved in getting something like this right that without a great tutorialization at the beginning, I can see lots of people skipping this feature completely to just shoot up the more diligent and determined players who didn’t, similar to how Dreams has more people playing Dreams creations than doing the creating themselves. That said, there are a lot of features only lightly exposed and hinted at here, like being able to quickly test your traps as a raider on the spot, so user friendliness seems to be a large priority here.The combat looks extremely enticing for people who love first-person shooters like Doom.The other half of the game involves raiding other people’s outposts yourself. Running through an enemy outpost requires being extra prepared for anything, being able to adjust your plan on the fly, and having the speed and reflexes to react to sudden problems. Besides your own wits, you’ll have an arsenal of weapons like a gnarly looking bowgun and a punchy shotgun. A sword appears to be an option for close encounters, and can also be used defensively to deflect incoming projectiles. The grappling hook allows you to move across rooms quickly, as well as pull yourself to far-away enemies and close the distance. Put together, the combat looks extremely enticing for people who love first-person shooters like Doom.Bringing genetic material back to your sanctuary for its Chimera, a biological experiment tied to the possible future of humanity, is the main goal. Raids hold a trove of other loot, though, like weapon upgrades and new building materials that you can tweak your own outposts with. You can repeat failed raids multiple times, so progress through tough outposts can happen on your time. You can also recruit a friend to raid with you in co-op. Tackling a challenge with another set of eyes, ears, and guns could make the difference.There's still plenty to be learned about Meet Your Maker. Behaviour Interactive slated the official launch sometime in 2023, but interested parties can sign up for the first closed playtest which will take place in the coming weeks.
