Ahead of this major release, the developers announced a limited-time playable demo during Steam Next Fest, running from June 15 to June 22. So, here is a preview of what you can experience in this unique title.
Core Game Mechanics: Exploration, Extraction, and Experiences
The gameplay itself in The Mound is similar to extraction survival games but comes with an extremely unique flavor and plenty of interesting twists:
- The Galleon Base: As in many co-op shooters, you begin by signing some contracts for your squad and deciding where to go and what missions to undertake. In this case, the team will choose the next sector of the cursed forest from which to extract precious items via rowboats.
- Living Forest: After your mission begins, you are alone, and you must survive. It is your job to find treasures and logs in the abandoned forts scattered throughout the map. In terms of mechanics, The Living Jungle follows a very simple rule: Noise and combat cause chaos. Depending on the amount of noise and environmental interaction, the forest will become aware of your presence, increasing the threat.
- Persistent Progression: With deep enough exploration and finding enough logbooks, you can unlock new starting points, moving closer and closer to the source of the chaos - The Mound.
Unique Features: The Madness System
One of the unique things about this game is the presence of a Madness System. As your character receives damage or witnesses horrors in the world, he begins to experience paranoia that is then translated into mechanics through spatialized voice chat and other effects.
Once you go mad enough, you begin to hear weird noises, see invisible hazards, and have hallucinations. Most importantly, once you have enough madness, you can even begin to perceive your own allies as monstrous creatures, thus destroying all sense of teamwork and creating situations where people will have to shoot their teammates in a frenzy.
To make matters worse, if a teammate fails to respawn after death, he will actually turn around and become a zombie enemy, hunting for the remaining crew members.
What’s Included in the Steam Next Fest Demo?
For a chance to try The Mound, there is still an opportunity to download the Steam Next Fest demo until June 22. It provides access to 5 fully explorable forts, giving players a chance to see how combat works and experience the insane mechanics of the world. It has already been mentioned that this build is based on a previously released closed beta test; however, before the actual release, the creators will be collecting community feedback on their Discord server and implementing final changes.
If you happen to have a group of people who love to play together, why not take advantage of the final chance and explore The Mound? Download the Steam Next Fest Demo before the clock runs out!