Extraction shooter Exoborne's extreme weather makes the world "a playground of verticality, unexpected discoveries, and dangerous combat spaces"

The fundamental premise of any extraction shooter is simple; get in, do the job, get back out. Preferably alive. Exoborne is planning to make the whole experience a wilder ride than usual. Will there be enemies? Of course. Will you have to complete objectives? Naturally! But the whole experience will take place in a world that has been ravaged by extreme weather, apocalyptic conditions that show no sign of calming down when you enter the scene.

"We had just come out of a project at another studio where we got to 'break' New York," explains Sharkmob co-founder Martin Hultberg [presumably meaning Tom Clancy's The Division, on which he was IP director], "so it seemed natural that the next step was to break the world. We looked at a bunch of different extinction level scenarios, but landed on extreme weather as the more interesting one because of how primal and dynamic it is. It is a type of disaster everyone understands."

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World unbuilding

Signs of the end times are everywhere. Structures are broken, areas are abandoned, and sinkholes have appeared. Which, of course, is great! That means the world you'll be playing in is a world full of gameplay possibilities. "Since it is a disaster that evolved over time it has left layers of destruction, and those layers help create the character of this world," says Hultberg. "You can tell you are in the United States because of architecture, branding, billboards, vehicles, etc., but everything is… off. Things are in places they shouldn’t be, buildings partially buried or sheared off, some areas overgrown and others washed out. All these areas effectively become different biomes that affect how you play and fight – a playground of verticality, unexpected discoveries, and dangerous combat spaces."

Why venture out into this dangerous world at all? Because there are precious resources to be had out there, resources that you can use back at base to craft and upgrade the kit that will help you come back alive. Resources, it's worth noting, that enemy players will also be looking to scavenge; from your corpse, if necessary (and you'll all also be fighting the enemy NPC factions). Weapons and mods can be customized, but so can your all-important exosuit, known as an exo-rig.

Your exo-rig has slots that can be upgraded with certain abilities. A shield would come in handy, right? So would some extra armor. But you're after loot, remember, so expanding your inventory space would be a pretty good investment. Perhaps you'd like the ability to scan for enemies through walls, or call in an airstrike. You can set up your rig in a way that best suits your playstyle. However you play, it also hides a grappling hook and a paraglider, giving you the best chance of being able to navigate the ruined landscape, and to master the deadly conditions and even use them to your advantage.

All this – the exploration, the firefights, the traversal of a broken world – takes place in the midst of a dynamic, painstakingly crafted weather system, as Hultberg explains. "Although Unreal 5 is a powerful tool, when it comes to our weather it has required a lot of design, engineering, lighting, and special effects work to get to the point we are at now. The complexity is not just in the different weather sets, but also in how they synergize with the powers of the exo-rigs, transition to other sets, blend, interact with each other, and interact with other systems creating emergent gameplay that means every session is unique."

If you're feeling particularly brave, you can set out into the world by yourself, defying ridiculous odds like a Hollywood sci-fi action hero. With unpredictable lightning strikes that can fry you though, and tornadoes to send you hurtling through the air while a group of enemies tries to give you a few extra holes, you might be better off playing alongside a few others to tip those odds slightly more in your favour. They'll be able to revive you when you're downed, too, assuming someone or something else doesn't get to you first.

Exoborne is lining itself up perfectly to provide a unique and memorable extraction shooter experience. "We are putting a lot of weight on the forces of nature, agile traversal across the world, and the power fantasy of the exo-rigs," Hulberg says. "Those three things combined provide a kind of shooter gameplay that we feel stands out from the rest and offers a thrilling and rewarding experience, with high risk – high reward in the sessions but a more consistent long-term progression."

To pass the time until Exoborne's launch, here are the best shooters you can play right now