Developer Dog Howl Games and publisher tinyBuild are working hard to bring Level Zero, an asymmetrical multiplayer horror title, to market in 2023. The impressive-looking indie game pits a team of four survivors against two photo-sensitive aliens who hunt the humans from the shadows. Light is players' main weapon against the creatures, who have a host of nasty tricks up their sleeves including EMPs, stunning screams, and facehugger-like traps.
Game Rant spoke to Alex Golenishchev and other members of the Dog Howl team about Level Zero's customization options, combat, and artistic influences. Interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: Can you please introduce yourselves, and share your favorite piece of sci-fi horror media?
Golenishchev: I’m Alex Golenishchev, the lead 3D artist of Level Zero. I would say Dead Space 2, specifically the second one, is mine. One of the first Sci-Fi horror games I played and it was a long time ago, but I really liked it.
Moisiienko: Mike Moisiienko: My name is Mike, and I’m the producer of Level Zero. I think my favorite piece of Sci-Fi horror media is the old movie, The Thing.
Pimenov: Alex Pimenov: I am Alex, the game director of level zero, and my favorite is Alien Isolation.
Q: How would you introduce Level Zero to readers who are unfamiliar with the title?
Golenishchev: It’s a new take on multiplayer horror games. Asymmetrical multiplayer horror games, specifically. Most, if not all, asymmetrical multiplayer horror games usually have a single antagonist against a few protagonists, while in our game it is two monsters against a team of survivors. Whenever you play a multiplayer game, you want to share your emotions with another player. A partner, a friend. And that’s why we decided to make it two versus four, rather than one versus however many.
Q: Can you recommend a fun build, for humans or aliens, to gamers just starting out on Level Zero?
Golenishchev: I think if you play as a monster, you will definitely learn that rushing towards survivors is not an easy option. Monsters will need to play in a stealthier manner; awaiting their prey in the darkness, as opposed to other games where the monsters can feel overpowered.
If you are playing as a survivor, in terms of perks, it really depends on the player’s play-style. Some people will prefer playing a stealthier way, others will prefer to be more aggressive. Humans may like to rush, and look for perks that boost speed.
To expand on that, the perk system is unique in its own way. The perks are shuffled randomly. Different players will start with different perks when they buy the game. So each player will have their own progression, which we have never seen in another game. When you launch Level Zero, you will see that you have fifteen perks. Three are open at the first stage, and you can unlock them one by one. Then you progress to the next three. But the perks in subsequent levels aren’t better versions of earlier perks, they are all unique in their own way.
Q: Is there a progression or customization system for the creatures as well?
Golenishchev: Yes. Just like for the humans, there are perks, unlockable character skins, and finishers, which you use whenever you kill a knocked down player.
Q: Will matchmaking be available, or will the game depend on pre-existing groups?
Golenishchev: Matchmaking will be available at launch. And it will be based on player ranks and skill levels.
Q: And will smaller groups be able to play with bots enabled?
Golenishchev: No. At least for now, we are not planning on AI or bots. The matchmaking system will definitely match you up to a full lobby of players.
Q: Are there plans to add new maps?
Golenishchev: Of course! The map in our preview video is a prototype space station map that is being completely redesigned from the ground up with new assets. We will have two additional maps as well. So three maps at launch. They are all interconnected through game lore. Starting on the cave system map on the planet Turian, progressing to the space station, and finally, a map set on Earth.
Q: There have been several asymmetrical PVP games built around horror concepts, ranging from recent releases like Dead by Daylight to the now-discontinued Jaws-like game, Depth. Do you think horror lends itself especially well to asymmetrical mechanics?
Golenishchev: I think so, yeah! One of the most popular asymmetrical games that really came up with the genre is Dead By Daylight. There’s also Friday the 13th. So I think horror would be one of the best genres for asymmetry. I think it’s fun to play as an over-powered creature that can scare others. You can watch their reactions of the survivors. We will have proximity voice chat, so you can hear players as they scream or react and that could be very fun.
Q: The humans’ attire looks much more like the suits from Arrival than typical Sci-Fi explorer armor. How did you settle on the art and general aesthetic of the game?
A: For the characters, we will have different base costumes based on the map that the player is playing in. For the cave map, we have completely new characters who come in space suits. Other characters will wear Hazmat suits in the space-station. And earth will have its own suits as well. And each of these suits will be customizable.
Some games and some movies as well. One of the movies was The Martian. It’s a more realistic setting and we are striving for a realistic environment. We don’t want to make Sci-Fi elements for the sake of making it look like Sci-Fi. Another influence is Star Citizen; although it’s set in a very far future, we just love how they emphasize realism. A flashlight will look like a flashlight.
Q: What can you tell us about the game’s not-so-far-future setting?
Golenishchev: The idea behind the setting and the lore is that humanity has learned to fly into space and explore distant interstellar bodies. There is a corporation that deals with interplanetary explorations. They have found a planet that caught their curiosity, and that’s where the explorers come in contact with these creatures, who make it to the space station and beyond.
Q: Do you have anything else to share about the game’s narrative?
Golenishchev: We will have an entire lore system that comes in the form of an audio series. There will be different dead bodies with recordings and players will be able to uncover the lore by interacting with them. Lore can hint at different secret rooms as well, or different hidden compartments on the map with collectible loot. The story will have its own characters, emotions, and heroes, starting at the Cave System map, going to the Space Station Map and continuing onto Earth.
Q: Who is handling your music and FX?
Golenishchev: Some are done in house, and some will be outsourced. Over all, the main target for this game is horror first and foremost. We don’t want a festival of jokes. We don’t want people just running around screaming in their mics, but we know it’s a very complicated task.
As soon as something becomes multiplayer, it becomes difficult to control how players will behave. Unlike when you have artificial intelligence, which you can always control. Like in Alien Isolation, you only have a single character, and that’s the player, so it is easier to control their emotions by manipulating AI characters and the atmosphere in the game. It is not as easy for our game, but we are still trying to make sure it is scary.
We added dynamic events to the game. For example, you can run through a corridor in the space station, and a pipe may burst in your face, or debris could fall from the ceiling, so the game will scare you as you play it, as well as the players who are controlling the monsters.
Q: Can you describe some of the unique challenges you encountered that pertain to Level Zero’s asymmetrical design?
Golenishchev: A lot of those things are still coming up as we test the game. For now, the addition of the perk system was something that we added to be able to balance things. Light is the main weapon for the survivors and early on, it felt like the survivors were the predators hunting the monsters. You could pop a flare and simply run after a monster. So that was very tricky. We had to solve that early on. The way we solved that was by adding the scream ability for the monsters. So now, if a player pursues a monster with a flare, the monster can use its Scream Wave ability which will put the human in a panicked state and make them drop their items. Very quickly, you become the prey again.
Moisiienko: We added one more critical feature for balance. We have a sort of legacy system where your losses can make you lose items or perks.
Golenishchev: Let me elaborate. If your team loses, you will lose those perks, which means you will have to repurchase them with the in-game currency. Perks are kind of like consumables. They can give you a boost depending on your play style, but if you lose, you have to reconsider whether you should repurchase those same perks, or try a different set-up. And the same goes for monsters. They can change their strategies to become more aggressive, or more stealthily, and so on.
Q: How long has Level Zero been in development?
Golenishchev: Close to three years, including the very early stages of the first prototype.
Q: How has the war in Ukraine affected development of Level Zero?
A: It has definitely influenced development. We have come up with various solutions to help the guys adapt to the new problems. There have been a lot of light outages recently, and we have been trying to work around that. Everyone is still extremely passionate, however!
Q: The game is listed to launch in 2023. Will there be an Early-Access period?
Anton Pavlov (tinyBuild, Publisher): No, I don’t think there will be an Early Access period. We are going for a full launch on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. There will be a closed beta that people can sign up for now happening early in the new year.
Q: Is there anything else you would like readers to know?
Moisiienko: We definitely want people to know that even if the lights are going out, we want to bring players the best multiplayer experience possible. So please follow us, we’ll keep you posted with a big announcement from us soon.
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Level Zero is currently in development with a projected launch in 2023 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.