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Post-apocalyptic games offer many possibilities, often extending beyond the usual zombie or virus outbreak scenarios. Gaming franchises are increasingly going the extra mile to create compelling narratives that leave players pondering the future of humanity. One such game is Backwoods Gaming's upcoming title, PANDO Engines. This innovative party game explores the survival of society with a unique twist. Curious to know more? Here's a breakdown of everything we know about PANDO Engines.
What is PANDO Engines?
PANDO Engines is an upcoming 2.5D online co-op party game set in post-apocalyptic British Columbia. The game's objective is to survive the unforgiving winter by creating massive land vehicles. The game's loop, according to developers, is simple and short. However, it still provides players enough freedom to avoid repetitive play. The game also features a variety of mini-games that buff your vehicle or character. The game classifies the mini-games as preparations such as making an oil change, cooking in a crock pot, and joining pipes to allow the flow of current that lights a bulb.
If you are big on party games and you're looking for a brief departure from the whimsical chaos in Mario Party games, PANDO Engines is the game for you.
Story
The year is 2278, ten decades after the nuclear blasts in British Columbia that wiped out an entire population. Thankfully, the Population Assembly Nucleotide Development Organization (PANDO) has a whole bunch of human clones ready to release to the world to repopulate after the nuclear war. You play as one of the clones, and your objective, as given by your creators, is to work with your team to reclaim the earth. It won't be an easy feat since you have to man the turrets, put out fires, shovel coal, repair segments, and take up daily maintenance duties. The question is, how long will you survive?
Gameplay
You'll team up with other players in an online cooperative game to accomplish objectives. However, snippets of the game haven't revealed how many team members will constitute a party. The game starts with a player choosing to host a lobby. From here, you can choose to invite friends for the adventure or go for a solo run.
The game starts with a shipbuilding phase, where you get a UI that gives you information to guide the process. This includes a forecast of weather events, a budget for your engines, an inventory of ship segments, and your engine stats. Get this. You also get to name your ship.
Once you have all the necessary items, you will work with your crewmates to create a custom engine that works best for the forecast provided to you. You then proceed to the next phase after the timer ends or after exhausting your shipbuilding budget.
The next phase opens the gameplay loop, where you navigate the wasteland with your vehicle. You should be wary of any geological hazards, mutated animals, and raiders. This means your custom engine should be formidable enough to withstand these threats.
The most exciting part of the gameplay is the shipbuilding. It calls for strategy and wit since the various ship segments have tags representing where they should be affixed. You'll have permeable, interactable, and external. For instance, a permeable tag determines whether a segment will be hollow or solid during gameplay. Permeable segments must be placed adjacent to another permeable segment. Interactable determines whether a player can interact with a segment. Like permeable, these should also be placed adjacent to a permeable segment. Finally, an external tag means the segments should be next to an empty block adjacent to it.
Development
PANDO Engines is currently being developed by Backwoods Gaming. Established in 2012, the German studio began as a small indie game development studio founded by three passionate friends: Marcus, Tristan, and Matze.
Their first major success came in 2018 with the release of Unforeseen Incidents, a survival adventure game in which you play as a paranormal investigator in yet another compelling narrative. The game quickly gained a loyal following for its engaging gameplay, allowing the studio to expand its team and resources.
The studio is also working on two other titles: We Stay Behind, an interactive mystery, and Pen & Paper Stories: Morriton Manor, in partnership with Rocket Beans TV.
Backwoods Gaming has maintained a strong connection with its community throughout its history. As evident in this upcoming title, the studio frequently engages with players through social media, forums, and events.
Trailer
Building Modular Tanks and Risking Friendships - PANDO Engines Devlog 2
Unfortunately, the developers have not yet released a trailer for the upcoming title. What we have so far is a series of dev logs on YouTube where the developers share the game creation process. These videos also share the game's source of inspiration. Ideally, we get a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process. The videos also give snippets of the mini-tasks, which are maintenance tasks for the ship.
Moreover, the videos give you an idea of the 2.5D plane you'll be working with, which is a treat visually. It certainly isn't Mario Party with its vibrant and colorful display, but it certainly does the trick.
Release Date, Platforms & Editions
PANDO Engines doesn't have a concrete release date. According to the YouTube developer logs, the game has been in development for two years now. We certainly hope the game isn't stuck in development hell and that we'll get a proper sneak peek into the title with an official trailer.
As far as editions are concerned, that information is still unclear. However, you can follow the publisher's official social media handle here to keep track of the latest news updates. Better yet, you can stick with us right here on gaming.net, where we post new information on all things gaming.
