Fractured Lands looks like a cross between Fallout, Mad Max and PUBG: A battle royale set in a broken world of derelict buildings, mile-high sandstorms, and banged-up machines driven by leather-clad scavengers with nothing to lose. It's being developed by Unbroken Studios, an outfit made up of developers who previously worked on games from the Battlefield, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and God of War series, and it's set to begin closed beta testing in June.
"Rise from the ashes of a post-apocalyptic world gone mad and become a deadly road warrior," the very on-the-nose announcement says. "Out-drive and out-gun a myriad of survivors in high-octane multiplayer manhunts where vehicular warfare injects a breakneck sense of speed and strategy into the Battle Royale landscape."
Guns are obviously an important part of surviving in this brutal world, but the car is what it's all about. Scavenged upgrades will make it tougher and more dangerous, it carries the supplies that will keep you alive, and it can turn opposing players into greasy smears faster than any bullet. On the downside, they're noisy as all get-out (the last of the V8s is not made for sneaking), they guzzle gasoline, and should you let your guard down, they can be stolen, too.
The basic battle royale formula sounds very much intact—a "radioactive storm" will surround and slowly constrict the game world, forcing players into conflict over the "winner-winner 'I've got a recipe for snake' dinner"—but the introduction of cars and the "mobile enough to scavenge" ethos gets my interest up a little bit. Give me a videogame version of this and yes, I will sign up.
Speaking of which, you can sign up for the closed beta at fractured-lands.com. The first three rounds of testing are scheduled to take place on the weekends of June 8, June 22, and June 29, and the Steam listing says it will go into Early Access release in July.
