Accipiter. A magnificent bird.
It feels like a fitting name for a squad of highly trained female soldiers. Perhaps the developer simply likes the bird, or perhaps there's another reference behind it. Either way, it suits them.
The curious part is that the game isn't called Squad ACCIPITER. It's called Project ACCIPITER. There is presumably a reason for that, though the demo doesn't reveal enough for me to know what it is yet. Was Project ACCIPITER the name of the programme that trained this squad before the apocalypse? For now, I can only speculate.
What I can say with confidence is what the game actually feels like:
Three adorable, heavily armed women roaming around as a squad and mowing down zombies in a top-down shooter.
And it works.
Each operator has her own special ability. Amaryllis throws grenades, while Calissa deploys a drone. Exactly what combat benefit the drone provides remains a mystery to me. Perhaps some form of aerial support?
The progression feels well paced. Upgrades come often enough to keep things moving, and the costs feel fair. There's a steady sense of becoming more capable without the upgrades arriving so quickly that they lose their impact.
There is, however, one lingering question about the full release.
So far, I haven't noticed any obviously different zombie types in the trailers or screenshots on the store page. Will we still be fighting the equivalent of Left 4 Dead's Common Infected by the time the credits roll?
That wouldn't automatically be a problem. A zombie game can absolutely work with a simple roster of enemies. Still, different enemy types are one of the easiest ways to give combat more variety and rhythm. A new threat can force the player to move differently, shift priorities, or simply break up the flow before it becomes repetitive.
I've always thought zombie fiction leans towards one of two pleasures.
One is the uncomplicated joy of cutting through hordes of zombies.
The other is the drama: people under pressure, survivors turning on one another, and all the human misery that tends to accompany the apocalypse.
Some zombie stories manage both. Others choose one and concentrate on doing it well.
From the demo, Project ACCIPITER clearly leans towards the action. Its strongest personality comes from the squad and the simple pleasure of tearing through zombies. That isn't a criticism. In fact, embracing that strength even further could turn it into a fantastic zombie game.
If the full release also delivers a brilliant story, all the better. But that's something the demo can't answer yet.
One final matter of personal preference: the constant meowing before you pet the cat got a bit much after a while.
Still, it's a cat.
Pet the cat. Take the bonus ability. Carry on killing zombies.
I'm looking forward to seeing what Project ACCIPITER becomes.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4629850/Project_ACCIPITER/?curator_clanid=46578905