Volatiles, an upcoming action game, merges the piece-by-piece map construction found in board games like Betrayal at House on the Hill with the intensity of a survival shooter. The game begins with players awakening in an unfamiliar facility, where scientists claim to be aiding them while simultaneously subjecting them to a sensory deprivation tank and forcing them to confront mental monsters.
This narrative setup leads into a roguelike experience within the player's mind. Each run commences with a single tile, quickly becoming the arena for a wave of nightmarish creatures. Upon defeating a wave, players level up, allowing them to place an additional tile to expand the map, enhance their character's abilities, and summon new enemies. This progression mechanic, where map expansion and character growth are intertwined with combat, is reminiscent of games such as Blue Prince and Into The Restless Ruins.
However, the developers at Team Instant Defeat cited different inspirations for Volatiles' core mechanics. Game director Ian Dovhan explained that the tile-placing concept originated from playing Dorfromantik, a relaxed tile-placement puzzle game. Dovhan envisioned applying these mechanics to a more aggressive genre, asking, "What if you had an action-survivor-like game where you built the map yourself? What if your character’s strength was dictated by how you build? What if weapons, abilities, and health were all tied into the environment itself?"
The strategic depth extends to the tile placement itself. Each tile offers distinct advantages, such as providing new weapons or stat buffs, while also contributing to the overall playable environment. This requires players to consider both character development and environmental design simultaneously. Lead software engineer Fritz Copes elaborated on the tactical decisions involved: "You can decide to make a labyrinthine hellscape, at the risk of trapping yourself. You can build big open spaces, but you might run out of cover and escape routes. You could prioritise getting autonomous turrets and exploding barrels. Sometimes you might have to choose between advancing towards a point of interest, healing, or an ability that makes your bullets bounce off walls. Those are the kind of strategic dilemmas we’re always trying to throw at the player."
Furthermore, the map tiles serve a narrative function, reflecting the player character's identity, strengths, and weaknesses. As the map expands and abilities are acquired, it offers a visual representation of the character's evolving persona, blurring the lines between pre-existing traits and newly inscribed characteristics. Even without delving into these metaphorical layers, Volatiles offers a gory survival shooter experience with a distinct tile-placement mechanic.