Killing Floor Finds its Ceiling
Despite it being a release in a seemingly saturated genre, Killing Floor: Double Feature manages to differentiate itself amongst its triple-A rivals.
Developed and published by Tripwire Interactive, Killing Floor: Double Feature is a zombie wave survival game, much akin to the several iterations of Call of Duty: Zombies. On the surface, the two games are very similar, but Killing Floor: Double Feature is far different on a deeper level.
Killing Floor’s gameplay is fluid and action packed. While COD: Zombies is a side activity in a shooter game, Killing Floor feels much more expressive and in-depth. Whether you choose to wield a shotgun, a missile launcher, or a shovel, there are numerous ways to explore the battlefield. These creative options don’t just feel like one of many nameless guns in your everyday FPS title. But Tripwire Interactive’s exploration of player creativity doesn’t just stop with gun selection.
One of Killing Floor: Double Feature’s best features is the customizable perk tree. Depending on your personal playstyle, you can pursue several different class options. FPS loyalists might choose Commando or Gunslinger, but if you prefer melee combat, Berserker might be your perk of choice. These are just three of 10 different playstyles, and each one can suit a different type of player or craving.
One of Killing Floor: Double Feature’s features that goes easily unnoticed is the friendly community. When playing triple-A shooters like Counter Strike or Call of Duty, loading up a multiplayer match is sure to barrage you with an onslaught of unfettered slurs and insults. But it was to my pleasant surprise that most players were just helpful. Killing Floor has a small but loyal community. When someone new looks to join, they look after them and try to help them enjoy the game as they do. Despite being a game about carnage, the people are a ray of sunshine. But rays of sunshine don’t help the clear issues I found in this game.
Although the gameplay itself is intuitive, it took out-of-game research to be able to find out how to efficiently use and decipher the tech tree system. With so much depth and complexity, there comes clear consequences, especially when that complexity isn’t laid out for newer players. With so much to learn about the game, I was hopeful for a comprehensive tutorial, but had to turn to the internet to learn how to play.
Another problem I found was the burnout and repetitive gameplay. Killing Floor: Double Feature is filled with thrills and blood-pumping action, but I found myself not wanting to play for more than an hour at a time. Part of this I attribute to the perk leveling system and the work associated with it. It takes long hours of gameplay in order to level up specific perks. Especially when each perk has a specific leveling requirement (like headshots or melee kills), it can feel like a grind trying to reach optimal levels. And although a grind isn’t inherently bad, Killing Floor’s gameplay doesn’t lend well to longer sessions. The game, on a purely gameplay level, is still very similar to COD: Zombies, a mini-game of the pillar series. But despite COD: Zombies’ popularity, they have never released a standalone title. Perhaps this is for a reason. Outside of perk customization and weapon selection, there is little variation in the gameplay itself. Every match you enter, you fight waves after waves of zombies, trying to reach the finale. Once the game ends, you re-queue and do the same. It’s with this problem that I believe Killing Floor: Double Feature actually hits its ceiling.
Killing Floor: Double Feature is a good game but not a great one. The action is thrilling and the customization is innovative, but the amount of work needed to fully enjoy the game leads me to rate Killing Floor 2:
7/10
Check Out the Killing Floor: Double Feature Trailer:
Killing Floor: Double Feature is developed and published digitally by Tripwire Interactive and is published at retail by Deep Silver for the PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation VR. This title has been rated M by the ESRB, PEGI 18, USK 18.
To stay up-to-date with the latest Killing Floor: Double Feature news and information, please visit the official website at https://killingfloor2.com/killingfloordoublefeature.
PlayStation 4 Review
My name is Devon Huge. I'm passionate about writing, art, games, and lists that are one item too long.
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