Silica is the most recent outing by publisher Bohemia Interactive and developer Bohemia Incubator. It has been in Early Access for a little over a week now and aims to capitalize on the sci-fi military shooter genre. While there are issues, the game impressed me with certain underlying design choices. From solid sound design and a futuristic planet setting, this game has a lot of promise.

Gameplay

The game is smooth and easy to pick up. I always dread playing a new game that fills the screen with meters and numbers while introducing tons of complex mechanics to master. Silica gets straight to the point and creates a plug-in-and-play feel. User Interface (UI) is also simple. You only know what you need to like, how much health you have, and your directional compass. Everything is straightforward and doesn’t require any amount of mental gymnastics.

Silica is split into three game types: Prospector, Strategy, and Arena.

Prospector acts as a sort of main campaign mode. The player will need to walk over large expanses of empty land to reach a waypoint. Upon reaching that waypoint, the player will then have to make another trek across barren land. It’s an interesting concept, but it brought me to my first issue. I made it very far and reached a waypoint that locked me out of combat to listen to the dialogue. An enemy killed me due to my not being able to defend myself which sent me all the way back to the start of the mission. I think a standard checkpoint system would work well here.

Strategy can be played as both a real-time strategy (RTS) or a boots-on-the-ground FPS. The only issue is that since it’s in early access, I was playing with mostly artificial intelligence (AI). These multiplayer modes will no doubt perk up when real players start jumping in. The game mode doesn’t stray far from the core gameplay, however. I still had to run through empty expanses of desert to reach a waypoint that moved each time I walked towards it. The objective system is a bit harder to understand in this mode. I was tasked with entering a vehicle as the driver when the round started. A bunch of AI took the vehicle and drove off which changed my objective to reach the waypoint. I wonder how that would be affected by real players.

Arena is a free-for-all multiplayer shooter. This mode has the most going for it. You’re not killing spider monsters but real players. Although it was just AI for me, the game mode will be a lot more fun with real people. You also get the choice to fight in an enclosed area which gives way to more engaging combat and interactions between players.

Expectations

While the game has a ton of promises, it has many things that are lacking. The level design is lifeless and not engaging. The settings for the levels feel like terrain instead of a living, breathing world. I couldn’t finish most of the levels because I got so bored until I played the arena mode. Reducing the distance between waypoints immensely and adding more dynamic traveling like jumping over things or getting a vehicle would work wonders.

A checkpoint system should be the first addition to the game. There is no reason players should have to spend five minutes moving through empty terrain, be attacked by an enemy while stuck in a conversation, die, and then restart the mission and walk through the area again. Walking simulators already feel like chores, they shouldn’t also feel like a punishment.

Enemy variety in the campaign mode would be great too. I spent a lot of time shooting at little spiders that die in two hits which didn’t feel challenging or engaging. More targets with unique gameplay features and attacks would sort out that problem, but this leads back to the level design. I was able to kill everything from very far away with an assault rifle. I would like to see more enclosed areas to reduce the player's advantage.

Verdict

Silica has a lot of promise, but it is nowhere near serviceable. While it has some great potential, I found the overall gameplay loop boring and lifeless. It’s not worth the money yet and I can’t say I recommend it in its current form. I’m hopeful for the full release. A few simple fixes and added features found in most games should bring this title into a better state.

Silica is available on PC via Steam Early Access.

Image Source: Official Silica Steam Page