Developer Behaviour Interactive has released a pair of new trailers that give us a look at some of the gear that players will have access to in the upcoming co-op shooter Exterminauts. The videos, which you can check out below, showcase the Overdrive Powerpack and the Exchange Terminal, and come in at a minute and a half and just over two minutes in length, respectively.
The video about the Overdrive Powerpack explains that the Powerpack “ain’t a weapon. It’s a battery.” It can store “polymorphic plasma” that can then be sent through cables into other objects. These objects can range from stationary objects to weapons held by the player, and the game refers to this action as Overdrive. There are four target types: plasma weapons, facility interactions, skip steps, and overkill.
Plasma weapons can be plugged into the Powerpack to be sent into overdrive mode, which boosts their power and range, and generally makes them more powerful. Facility interactions like doors and ziplines can be opened up to make traversal easier for the players during a mission. The “skip steps” object types allow players to quickly get through things like needing to figure out a computer’s password by simply hooking up the Powerpack to it. And finally, overkill allows players to execute massive enemies after staggering them to quickly finish them off.
The Powerpack doesn’t have an infinite amount of polymorphic plasma, and players will have to make sure that it is fully charged up so that it can be used during missions. Charging stations will be available in various missions, but it will be up to the players to find them and make sure that they don’t run out of energy.
The Exchange Terminal also plays a vital role in the core gameplay of Exterminauts. After completing missions, players can access the terminal to sell off some high-value items in exchange for valuable upgrades. There are two types of trade-ins available at the Exchange Terminal – subroutines and augments. The former is run by the Blackburn Data Recovery program and can be slotted into the player’s sponsored firmware to get boosts like stamina regeneration and higher bio damage, among others.
Augments are handled by the Chem-IX Applied Sciences Division and can be fitted into kinetic weapons.
Players will be able to find random subroutine data discs throughout missions and can submit them to fill out a loyalty card that can then reward them with options. These rewards can be further targeted by picking a firmware with which they would be compatible. Augments, on the other hand, run on crystallized plasma that can be found in plasma cloud forms, tar spawners, or deep underground. Five can be traded in exchange for a random augment for a random weapon type. If you already have one of these random augments, the reward instead turns into a Warehouse Ticket that can be traded in for a specific weapon’s augment instead.
The video caps things off by noting that subroutines can be upgraded, but augments can. Along with this, it also clarifies that “subroutines influence your job,” and that “augments change how you shoot.”
Exterminauts is being developed for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and is set for a 2027 launch. For more details, check out its official gameplay walkthrough from August.
