Generation Zero

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
45

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 21
  3. Negative: 12 out of 21
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  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    May 3, 2019
    60
    While there’s not much to Avalanche’s mechanical uprising, running-and-gunning bad robots with buds is a blast. The arresting Scandinavian vistas are worth visiting. [Issue@162, p.93]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. Gaming Nexus
    Apr 9, 2019
    65
    This isn't Call of Duty in the land of Swedish meatballs, it's Boston Dynamics in an IKEA-effect hunting sim. Come for the difficult robot fights, stay for the Arctic Circle sunsets. The technical issues will make you rage quit one day and then bring you back the next.
  3. DarkStation
    Apr 9, 2019
    70
    The nostalgia is strong in Generation Zero, both in and outside, and Avalanche Studios has more or less successfully bet on it. It worked for me even though I know it won’t necessarily work for everyone. Still, if you’re looking for something that does considerably less than most of those shiny games out there but at the same time has more integrity while doing so, Generation Zero might just be up your alley, although it’s a true niche title if there ever was one. To sum the game up, it’s like an 80’s Volvo; boxy but good.
  5. PlayStation Country
    Apr 5, 2019
    60
    I find Generation Zero to have an interesting, stealthy core that sadly is undermined by a somewhat empty world. The technical issues might lead some to hold off and I do hope Avalanche keep supporting this blueprint. There is an appeal to this that does want me to return, providing something more is on the horizon.
  6. BaziCenter
    Apr 4, 2019
    60
    Generation Zero is an ambitious title with a strong idea, but fails when it tries to execute that wonderful idea. The world of Generation Zero is big but shallow, and in single-player mode, you’ll probably get bored after several hours. Whoever, if you team-up with some friends, you will probably enjoy its apocalyptic atmosphere set in the 80s, along with its great music and sound design.
  7. M3
    Apr 4, 2019
    50
    Fun shooter with wonderful environments that had needed a few months extra of development time. As of now it suffers from empty spots and far too many bugs. One does simply not release games with invisible walls.
  8. GameCrate
    Mar 29, 2019
    58
    I’m not going to go so far as to call Generation Zero a straight cash grab, but charging $40 for a game that was clearly rushed out the door is a hard sin to ignore. I’m not entirely sure what Avalanche’s final vision for Generation Zero was, but it clearly wasn’t confident enough in that vision to give the game the proper care and resources that were required.
  9. Game Informer
    Mar 27, 2019
    50
    Frankly speaking, Generation Zero feels unfinished. A massive trail of narrative bread crumbs exists for players that might culminate in a great yarn about this robotic invasion, but the sheer dullness and technical issues makes this game not worth seeing to the halfway point, much less the end.
  10. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Mar 26, 2019
    65
    The gameplay loop of loot, shoot, and run all feels good, and I’d like to see more story added to the game. Also, it would be great if there were more machines, more weapons, and proper difficulty scaling for players who want to play by themselves. Above all, the world is just too big.

Awards & Rankings

77
#77 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019

User Reviews

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User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 87 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 87
  3. Negative: 32 out of 87
  1. Schroedingercat
    Apr 2, 2019
    8
    Metabashing ? A critic is aimed at having the scrutinized object to meet its potential happy audience .. Bashing is aimed at pleasing oneselfMetabashing ? A critic is aimed at having the scrutinized object to meet its potential happy audience .. Bashing is aimed at pleasing oneself by throwing bullyish and at times pretty unfair arguments - I hate, hence I exist.
    You can hate a game and yet, by your truly critical eye, have it to meet its audience - bashing is low passion, critic is deconstruction .. at the service of others passion (making you a saint in the process, wings and all).
    I understand the urge to warn our fellow gamers about what we take as a waste of time and money - but again, please give those strangers a honest and complete overview, so that they can make their own minds, according to their own inclinations - and yes ! masochism can be one of those .. Amen.

    "Generation zero", then.

    Graphics : it's visually stunning, no less, vibrant with atmosphere. The copy-paste argument stands for the most common buildings (houses, barn, shed) - but you won't spend much time in them, unless you use them to fight (in which case you won't give a damn, busy at surviving).

    Difficulty : it is real - you charge headlong, you die on the spot or waste precious ammo. The game is about tactics, and mastering them (fireworks to saturate captors, tape recorders to attract, gas cans initially placed to be blasted from a distance, etc). Sometimes evading combat is the best option .. if you can !

    Combat : the choice of ammo is crucial, depending on the target .. and your skill (aiming at soft spots in the heat of the battle can be tricky ! - shotguns deliver ..)
    It's a demanding game, and a rewarding one too - kill an enemy without blasting him to smithereens, and you might get very useful spare parts ..

    Mission structure : the developers won't take you too blatantly by the hand. You start by finding (or not) a clue in the environment, and then you unroll it all (for instance, the headlights of a crashed car leads to its trunk leads to a written note leads to a place somewhere on the map).
    You see a dirt road that leads apparently nowhere ? - take your time, follow it, there might (just might) be something there ..
    The overall investigation stands - what the hell happened ?

    Walking simulator, they say : the rythm is not that of an all-out war (at least initially, I'm 25 slow hours into the game), it's more a matter of picking your own fights. Getting the right gear, setting an ambush (a lot more so in coop, but guerrilla tactics do work in solo thanks to the generous array of gizmos), enjoying a sunset, waiting for the night to fall so as to pick up the whereabouts ot your enemies .. More like "Slow and furious", if I were to describe it.
    But again, when you manage to unlock a safe haven, your character is then free to teleport back to it. And characters do run, at that, at a pace clearly higher than in many AAA fps I've been experiencing ..

    Inventory : a lot of possibilities implies a lot of different gear .. yet space is limited (though it can be upgraded, as many other things). You are forced to choose, as if you were actually carrying all this silly stuff ! Those choices, as irritating as they may be, contribute to the atmosphere and the construction of your character - you are what you do, and how you do it. Lean and mean, you prowl ..

    Make up your mind, then - Sweden looks great, by the way.    … Full Review »
  2. wolfie79
    Mar 31, 2019
    2
    I gotta say, this game is horrible and I am from Sweden. So figured I'd enjoy the recognisable environment a bit. But the combat is by far theI gotta say, this game is horrible and I am from Sweden. So figured I'd enjoy the recognisable environment a bit. But the combat is by far the worst I've ever seen (there even is zero feedback wether you hit or not), the graphics are like an impressive early 2000 game, everything is just flat and repeated textures and the missions is just guess your way. And if you play with a friend, he's gotta restart from the beginning every single time (keeps his loot though). And the inventory management is beyond horrible. Everything in the inventory is beyond understanding. You can also click a button like switch weapon and it does though between 1st to 5th try. It's broken, boring and horrible. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME! If I as a Swede and part of the culture can't make it last past 15 minutes you're screwed. Those who love this game really have very low expectations or are payed of. 2/10.… Full Review »
  3. Daveisonline
    Mar 29, 2019
    1
    Absolutely awful, one of the worst games I've played in a long time

    The mission structure is almost non existent. The the enemy AI is    Absolutely awful, one of the worst games I've played in a long time

    The mission structure is almost non existent. The the enemy AI is either super tough or super dumb, the map blatantly copy-pastes assets everywhere. I also experienced the game crashing on me quite a few times. I did play the game with some strangers in Co-op and the most fun we had was laughing at how broken the game is.    … Full Review »
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