BULLETS/BLADES/BLOOD at PAX South 2015: Killing Floor 2

Do you like Bullets, Blades, and Blood? (Everyone cheers and shouts)
Raise your hand if you enjoy the sound of brutally killing wave after wave of Zed specimen! (Everyone raises their hand and cheers)
Raise your hand if you played the original Killing Floor? You get the picture… this is kind of what it was like to sit in the first half of today’s Killing Floor 2 panel at PAX South.

Now don’t get me wrong, it was amazing once we got past that initial attempt at crowd hype-up. Killing Floor 2 looks like an incredibly fun and addicting game that fans of the first installment will love, but also should be a great time for those who are new to the series as well.

In KILLING FLOOR 2, players will descend into continental Europe where the outbreak caused by Horzine Biotech’s failed experiment has quickly spread and gained unstoppable momentum, essentially paralyzing the European Union. The specimen clones are everywhere, and while many of Europe’s fine citizens have gone into hiding, there is one group that has not given up yet… thank God, because if this were happening in my real life, I don’t think I would have the testicular fortitude to fight back (although a portion of my mind likes to think I’d be badass and step up to the plate).

A group of civilians and mercenaries have banded together to combat the outbreak and established privately funded operation bases across Europe. That’s you! Upon tracking specimen clone outbreaks, you, the player(s) will descend into the hot zones where the Zed gather and exterminate them.

If this all interests you so far, please read on for some highlights from today’s PAX South 2015 panel –

The Killing Floor 2 Development Process was built on a few simple ideals:

• Don’t change the Killing Floor DNA (but reexamine the core systems and make improvements where they were needed)
• Being designed for PC and Playstation 4 from the ground up; Tripwire Interactive panel members used some colorful language to describe that the PC and PS4 versions will not be a sh*tty port of one or the other. They will be full-fledged experiences for each version.
• And of course, BULLETS/BLADES/BLOOD… gore is clearly evident with 22 points of Zed dismemberment, 95 different death animations per enemy, and persistent blood.

One thing that stood out to me was the addition of destructive environments, and particularly with the lighting. Killing Floor 2 is built with dynamic lighting and shadow solutions, and levels will end up looking much different after a wave or two has been completed. Let’s just say, if you want to scare yourself a bit more, you could choose to destroy the lights up above you, or maybe a Siren specimen will eventually come and do that for you.

Enhanced enemy A.I., melee weapons that are as robust as the numerous gun choices, 10 different Perk systems (or classes, like Medics, Support, Berserker, Commando and more) with 25 levels each, and a Mod-friendly community that will encourage players to create just the kind of Killing Floor 2 experience they want to play; all of this will be a part of your KF2 pleasure.

Enjoy the game when it comes out on Steam Early Access “soon” (as they say at the panel). If you need some Killing Floor action to tide you over until then, please be on the lookout for Killing Floor: Uncovered, a live action short film inspired by the KF franchise, and play Killing Floor: Calamity, a reimagined arcade shooter version of the original Killing Floor, on many devices very soon!