TheAveryChu
Tripwire, the developers of Killing Floor 2, recently announced via their forums that the opt-in beta for their upcoming Summer update has begun. The main centerpiece of the update’s contents is Objective mode, a returning mode from the original Killing Floor, in which players have to complete each given assignment before they can hope for any reprieve from the hordes of Zeds. Objective mode offers a bit more story context through in-game announcer/trader voice that gives various orders to the players.
The update’s entire contents include…
- Steam Fortress Map
- Objective mode for Outpost, Zed Landing, and Steam Fortress
- Two new weapons, Seal Squeal (a new weapon for Demolitions) and Hemoclobber (Crossperk weapon for Berserker and Field Medics)
- New Achievements
- New Cosmetic Items
I’ve personally opted into the beta and played around with the update myself. In regards to the new weapons, I didn’t particularly care for the Seal Squeal, as I found many other weapons were simply way more useful. I haven’t taken advantage of the Hemoclobber yet (despite being a proud medic main), although I’m definitely excited for the idea of a health regenerating melee weapon so hopefully it will turn out to be viable for higher level play. As for the new map, I’m tired of Steampunk themed….everything. However, the level’s art direction makes it among the prettiest levels to play on and the layout was decent enough.
For quite some time I’ve had the itch for a much more fleshed out story and universe from the Killing Floor franchise to the point in which I hope a hypothetical Killing Floor 3 will go as far to include an actual single-player campaign. Unfortunately, Objective mode doesn’t come close to fully scratching this itch, as there still aren’t many scripted gameplay moments with a closely linked narrative, but Objective mode is at least offering something as opposed to nothing. Fortunately, I imagine that Objective mode on higher difficulties will definitely add even more replayability to the high-skill level play, which is certainly needed after spending hundreds of hours with the game.
If you are impatient like me, you can play the update now by opting into Betas under Killing Floor 2‘s ‘properties’ in Steam. Keep in mind that there may be additional technical issues (although these betas are usually pretty polished), and no new cosmetic items will drop during this beta period.
