Core Decay is a retro-shooter immersive sim about a cyborg on a dying Earth

The retro-shooter genre has mostly focused on being like Doom or Quake. Fast-paced games with an emphasis on twitch reflexes and knowing the enemies rather than outsmarting them. That’s not bad—it gave us games like Dusk. But how about the other late-90s shooters like Deus Ex or System Shock? There’s a lot of nostalgia for those, and Core Decay is a game that looks to replicate that look and style of play, but with 21st century sensibilities.

The developers say it’s a slower-paced game focusing on understanding environments and knowing how to conserve your limited resources rather than flying through levels blasting everything you see. They’ve just released an announcement trailer.

Core Decay is the story of an amnesiac cyborg exploring facilities left behind by a mysterious “Contingency Accord.” This takes place against the backdrop of a resource-starved Earth ruled by despotic corporations and on the verge of complete ecological collapse. The player can attempt to either retain their humanity, or reject it and become something more, with increasing numbers of cybernetic upgrades to themselves. Along the way, you’ll also collect and upgrade weapons as you explore the game’s levels. Core Decay is set to release an open beta later this year. You can keep track of it via the Core Decay official website or developer Ivar Hill’s Patreon.

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Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.