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Outer space is well known for being cold, but it’s never been this cool before. The Anacrusis is a four-player, cooperative first-person shooter that takes place on board a future-retro, 70s-inspired spaceship adrift in the dark reaches of space. With the game just launched, Intel Gaming Access grabbed a minute with Chet Faliszek, co-founder and CEO of developer Stray Bombay, to find out what’s underneath the hip exterior.
Every shooter needs its bad guys. In The Anacrusis it’s a horde of socially awkward aliens who seem less than keen to share this particular corner of the galaxy. Maybe they just don’t like your style, but, for whatever reason, they’ve taken it upon themselves to make your stay here uncomfortable. Enter you and your team of hip buddies, clad in retro threads and toting wild weapons, ready to lay waste to each incoming wave of seriously uncool otherworld weirdos.
<img src="https://2085555.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/2085555/GAP%20Newsletter%20-%20Image%20Hosting/01.13.22%20Newsletter/anacrusis-01.jpg" alt="" />
Space Cool
Visually, The Anacrusis stands out for its refreshing application of afros, minidresses, and vivid color schemes to the steel corridors of a spaceship. “We’re big fans of late 60s and early 70s sci-fi, everything from the original Star Trek to Logan’s Run and beyond,” said Chet. “We wanted to live inside that space with the bright, cool colors, and escape anything dreary and depressing.” The effect is striking and lots of fun—just try not to get any alien goo on your turtleneck. 
While the 70s era provides plenty of visual juice, the weaponry is definitely from an as-yet-uncharted future. “Sci-fi lets us create fantastical weapons, like a black hole you can carry in your pocket,” said Chet. How the game’s weapons behave—from guns and grenades to pocket singularities—combined with the overall gameplay feel, is where FPS fans will find their happy place. Going into launch, the signs are good, with beta players citing smart design decisions that help The Anacrusis deliver a ton of fast-paced, low-friction fun.
<img src="https://2085555.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/2085555/GAP%20Newsletter%20-%20Image%20Hosting/01.13.22%20Newsletter/anacrusis-02.jpg" alt="" />
AI Director
One of those key design features is the game’s AI Director system (now in version 2.0) which manages every aspect of the player experience. “The Director controls the game’s pacing to give you ups and downs throughout the game, which means it can challenge teams of all skill levels, from brand-new FPS players to seasoned pros,” explained Chet. “The Director learns how you play, then creates a custom game that will deliver a high level of intensity tailored to your team’s skill level.”
One unexpected feature of The Anacrusis is its approach to difficulty, made possible by the AI Director. “We’re shipping without a difficulty selector,” said Chet. “We wanted to surprise players with the Director’s ability to adapt to players and challenge them without overwhelming them—and without players self-selecting the difficulty.” 
The move created its own special challenges during development. “The game was too damn hard for a long time,” said Chet. “We needed to find out how to separate the intensity of the experience from the difficulty of the game, which entailed bringing in external testers—mostly friends and family—and absolutely punishing them. There were a few months where none of our testers could get past the first level!” 
The plan paid off and the difficulty hurdle was overcome, not least thanks to the particular set of abilities the game requires. “The skills needed to succeed in The Anacrusis aren’t just twitch skills, but on-the-fly strategy and problem-solving using the tools available to you,” said Chet. “That’s why we give players such a giant mix of tools.”
<img src="https://2085555.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/2085555/GAP%20Newsletter%20-%20Image%20Hosting/01.13.22%20Newsletter/anacrusis-03.jpg" alt="" />
PC and More
Players on well-specced PCs will experience the best-looking and most challenging experience The Anacrusis can deliver. “Today’s high-performance PCs let us ratchet up the spectacle in the game, both in terms of the whizbang visual effects we use, but also in terms of the number of enemies,” said Chet. “High-skill players will regularly kill more than 5000 aliens in a single episode.”
Now the game is out in the world, Chet and the team at Stray Bombay are on full alert, watching how players interact with their baby, and preparing a steady stream of improvements and new content. “We really enjoyed watching players get into The Anacrusis in our pre-launch beta period, and we can’t wait to see what players do now the game is on sale,” said Chet. “We’re going to continue building, testing, and iterating on new features and content, and now we’re really excited to be able to do that with feedback from players.”
In 2022, players can expect new modes, and a satisfying conclusion to the current Season 0 before Season 1 debuts in 2023. As long as the aliens keep coming, the cool cats of The Anacrusis will keep blasting their way through them. As Chet said: “We expect to be telling stories in this world for many years to come!”
<a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1120480/The_Anacrusis/">Buy The Anacrusis on Steam</a>
<a href="https://discord.gg/straybombay">Join The Anacrusis community on Discord</a>

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