Another Apocalypse
As PC Gamer's resident unfinished Early Access post-apocalyptic multiplayer survival crafting game checker-outer, I just took a look at Miscreated, which is Another One of Those. Run, scavenge, eat, drink, craft, meet people, get shot by people, fight zombies, and so on. Here's a little journal of my brief adventure.
Spikes beats pipe
After some looting, in which I find a little food and a tire iron, I spot a monster-thing walking around in the street. I try whomping it with my tire iron and it tries stabbing me with the pointy metal spike it has instead of a hand. When I swing, it's like I'm hitting air. When it swings, it's like it's stabbing me with a pointy metal spike. Needless to say, it wins.
Home sweet home
I respawn in the wild, but eventually find some houses to loot. Again, the detail in this game is great. Houses are rotting and overgrown, walls covered with peeling paint, and most homes contain little bits of environmental storytelling, like this sleeping bag with a framed photo propped next to it.
Gearhead
I try crafting. I turn my shirt into rags. I chop a tree and try to make something with wood and some nails I found, but nothing happens. I find some spark plugs and a car battery, which I presume means there are cars that can be rebuilt. And, as is requisite, I put on a motorcycle helmet. I don't know why there are so many motorcycle hemlets in the apocalypse but so few motorcycles.
Standoff
Later, while crossing a bridge, I spot a player with a cowboy hat. He's pointing a rifle at me. I try to talk to him over the mic but he doesn't answer. I take out my flashlight and click it on and off, as if he might know Morse code, even though I don't know Morse code. I still get no response from him. I figure he's either out of ammo, or is checking to see if I'm alone before shooting me.
Chop chop
You know what? I'm tired of being the nice guy who gets shot in these games. I'm always the earnest fellow who rushes up, all "Golly, mister! Whatcha doin'? Need some food? Any projects I can help with?" before being handcuffed or shot in the face or otherwise mistreated. I take out my axe and lay into the guy. He starts firing.
The balancing corpse
I win! Somehow! I'm hurt, but I patch myself up with my artisanal rags and loot the dead cowboy. Now I know why people play these games as psychopaths. It's one-stop shopping! A hour looting buildings got me a handful of stuff, but now I have a rifle, a pistol, ammo, food, extra bandages, a bigger backpack, and a mask. Why haven't I been doing this all along?
A voice in the dark
It's nighttime (Miscreated's day/night cycle is tied to the server's physical location) so I creep around. And creep is the right word. It is pretty creepy, especially when someone suddenly starts talking to me. A voice tells me to drop my gear or I'll be shot. I play dumb, saying I can't make out what he's saying, asking him to adjust his mic's settings, basically stalling for time while trying to locate the source.
Firefight
He won't come out. As a ruse, I drop my rifle in the street—it only has one round anyway—while keeping my pistol. It works! A figure appears from a building. Unfortunately, he immediately starts shooting. Dang, shooting unarmed clueless people was going to be my thing! I bring out my pistol and return fire, but he gets the best of me.
