There are few video games as ridiculously wild, visually ingenious, and endlessly bold as Warframe. Digital Extremes seemingly has one mode when designing the sport’s world, and it’s going full balls to the wall.
One of the best proof of that is the total reveal of Warframe 1999, an replace that takes the slick sci-fi imagery of Warframe and provides helpings of the Metallic Gear franchise, traditional anime, boy bands, and early prompt messaging providers.
Warframe takes place in a far, far-off sci-fi future. The traditional Orokin empire has colonized Mercury, Mars, and the opposite planets within the Origin System. Their makes an attempt to colonize different methods backfired, resulting in an AI battle. The participant takes up the position of a Tenno, an historical warrior caste inhabiting a super-fast and powerful robotic physique. From there, they bullet-jump, slash, and sprint their manner by scores of enemies.
The world of Warframe is so alien and unrelatable that it may flip gamers off; Warframe 99 flips that system on its head. The Protoframes are all people, with their faces clearly seen. They journey sick bikes, play arcade video games, and hang around on the mall. The ornament is comparatively trendy and extremely recognizable; the stylized “S” graffiti on a wall, crimson plastic Pizza Hut-style cups, outdated arcade video games. Every part looks as if it was ripped out of the doodles within the margin of a teen’s pocket book, after which dropped at life.
That’s simply the fundamental premise, in fact. Because the TennoCon presentation exhibits, as soon as Arthur — the person sporting the Excalibur Protoframe — delves into the infested tunnels beneath the mall, he finds all method of bizarre shit. This culminates in a sequence the place, within the far way forward for the Origin System, a large boy band stage emerges from the majesty of the cosmos, enjoying a ‘90s bop whereas Railjack spaceships cautiously examine.
I’ve seen many an area battle earlier than, however I’ve but to see one in opposition to the metaphysical reincarnation of a pop group, re-emerging and re-constructed out of borrowed flesh and memetic concepts. It’s these vastly artistic swings, pulled off with sincerity and magnificence, that make Warframe a lot enjoyable.
The most important downside with getting excited for Warframe 99 is that it’s a must to get by the remainder of Warframe to get there. I like Warframe, but it surely’s a giant and deep recreation — and if somebody new is within the characters in 99, they’ll need to get by a superb chunk of faceless robotic gun man gameplay earlier than they will play with them. That journey is packed stuffed with creativeness, character, and some actually good twists, however it’s a journey that requires a time dedication not everybody will have the ability to muster.
It takes some time for Warframe to take form for a brand new participant, and whereas Digital Extremes has put in new participant expertise adjustments over the yr — and has plans to do extra within the near-future — it may nonetheless be an uphill battle. However I’ve a lot appreciation for the visible and artistic design of the sport, and the reveal of 99 at this yr’s TennoCon solely sealed it additional. I’d fairly take an imperfect, wild journey of a recreation than a sanitized, secure, and clean journey.
