Competitive PSVR 2 Shooter 'Firewall Ultra' Reveals Co-op PvE Mode, Live Service Ambitions

Republished By Plato

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Firewall Ultra, the next-gen sequel to the popular PSVR-exclusive shooter, launches next week and with it, a co-op PvE mode supporting up to four players.

Set to launch next week on August 24th on PSVR 2, Firewall Ultra is just around the corner. Today developer First Contact Entertainment revealed the game will go beyond its pure PvP roots with a co-op PvE mode. While it doesn’t sound anything like full-featured campaign, the studio claims it has been planning the mode from the start.

Called Exfil (short for Exfiltration), the new mode will see up to four players battling bots across the game’s array of maps as they seek to activate objectives and then return to an evac zone for extraction.

When you first load into a mission in Exfil, you’ll hack into one of two available access points to reveal the laptop locations and then make your plan of attack. Will you try to split up to cover more ground as a squad, or will you stick together to cover each other’s backs? Do you plan to sneak through corridors and try to remain undetected for as long as possible, or will you roll up guns blazing to wage war? The choice is yours since every level in Exfil is like a miniature playground with a wide assortment of options and possible scenarios.

First Contact says it has “designed each map to accommodate both PvE and PvP game modes so you’re always uncovering new pathways through levels and finding great flanking spots to take out enemies.”

The studio says it has spent time making sure the AI enemies are more than just cannon fodder.

“At the start of a mission the enemy units won’t know your location, so they’ll simply be preoccupied patrolling around the map. Once you initiate a hack and start firefights, that’s when things get more intense. Reinforcements equipped with various weapons will dynamically converge on your position from around the map in unique ways to keep you on your toes,” the studio says. “AI enemies also have an assortment of gadgets at their disposal, similar to players, with the ability to throw out grenades, lay traps, breach rooms by kicking down doors, and even deploy C4 charges. These aren’t your run of the mill AI bots that just run into the line of fire blindly—they take cover, flank you, and react to your moves intelligently.”

Co-op VR experiences are great, but the odds are low that many of your friends have their own PSVR 2 headset to play with you. Luckily First Contact says the PvE mode can be played privately with friends (or solo) and includes public matchmaking to join you up with other players.

Firewall Ultra’s Live Service Ambitions

While predecessor Firewall Zero Hour on PSVR eventually transformed into a live service game with regular seasons that brought new maps and other content, First Contact says Firewall Ultra is being designed as a live service title from the ground up.

“Firewall Ultra is designed as the kind of game you can keep coming back to again and again over time on your PSVR 2 and consistently find something fresh and new to do and see. As a live service title, that means constant updates with new content such as maps, weapons, and contractors, as well as redesigns for locations like the shooting range and safehouse lobby environment,” the studio shares. “We want this to feel like a living, breathing world that evolves over time. Just like the world of Firewall Ultra is five years into the future from the previous Firewall title (Firewall Zero Hour), as time goes on, Firewall Ultra itself will also see changes.”

To that end players can almost certainly expect seasonal paid battle passes, just like the original game, which could offer new cosmetics and maybe even contractors for a fee.

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Firewall Ultra launches on August 24th, 2023 at 8AM PT, exclusively on PSVR 2. The game is priced at $40 for the standard edition and $60 for the deluxe edition; pre-orders are available now.