It’s no secret that I love South Korea. From its music to its fashion and focus on culture, it’s a melting pot of old meets new that’s spectacularly unique. Cinder City, then, immediately caught my eye. Set in a near-future, post-apocalyptic Seoul, its blend of horror, sci-fi, and traditional FPS mechanics made it an immediate wishlist for me, not that I need another open-world shooter to keep me busy.
If you’re based in the US, you’ll finally be able to fill the Cinder City-shaped hole in your heart. Why? NC has confirmed that a new pre-alpha playtest is taking place in North America, running for three days. This is our first real look at what the team has been up to since the FPS game’s reveal at Gamescom last year, and I’m intrigued to see what comes of it.
NC’s Cinder City playtest will run from Friday, August 14 through to Sunday, August 16. The build will be available from 5pm – 9pm PST on the first day, with that extending out until 11pm on Saturday and Sunday. You must be 16 years old or above to participate, and be located in North America. You can sign up here, and check out the developer preview above for a little taste of what to expect.
Given that NC publishes Guild Wars which, I maintain, is one of the best MMORPGs ever made, I’m excited to see how it brings that experience to Cinder City. The game’s bosses certainly have the gravity of a MMO’s, and the world is vaguely reminiscent of The Division, but on a bigger scale. In the wake of Destiny 2’s shutdown, I do wonder if something like Cinder City can fill the gap – Warframe’s certainly seen an influx of new players, so I wonder if NC will strike gold here. As a Guild Wars fan and rabid Koreaboo, I’ve got my fingers crossed for them.
