Developer: Disruptive Games
Platform: PC (Reviewed)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie
Publisher: Disruptive Games
Developed and published by Disruptive Games, Wreck Runners is a co-op extraction game currently available on Windows and Linux. Designed for up to four players online, it’s definitely the kind of game that’s best experienced with friends as you work together to explore dangerous locations, gather valuable loot, and make it back in one piece before everything goes wrong.
Wreck Runners is an extraction game that plays similarly to Murky Divers, or at least that’s what I thought going into it. The game has you and up to four players heading into the Bermuda Triangle to loot valuables before making it back out safely.
First and foremost, the game has wonderful graphics and very vivid visuals that make every aspect of the world feel real. It’s almost like getting lost on an island in *Jurassic World*. The soundtrack and sound effects are just as immersive, helping to pull you into the experience.
When we first jumped into the game, we found it very easy to get players to join, and it was even better that creating servers was so straightforward. In terms of connectivity, we didn’t experience any major issues. The only downside to the multiplayer experience was the voice chat. For some reason, it just wasn’t very clear, and there were moments where it echoed. I also wish there was an option to adjust each player’s volume individually because everyone’s voice stayed at the same level, and combined with the loud in-game sound effects, it could sometimes be difficult to hear.
Now, when it comes to the actual gameplay, we were a little confused at first about what needed to be done. There didn’t seem to be a clear tutorial in the “Pier” area, which is basically your home base before venturing out with your ship. There is a bulletin board that briefly explains the objective, but for the most part you’re expected to experiment and figure things out yourself.
Luckily, someone joined our public game who already had loads of experience with the game, which made the experience so much better. They taught us loads of useful tips that helped us understand how everything worked. The extraction gameplay has you steering your ship to different extraction points that you spot through the submarine binoculars. Once there, you use a tool that’s kind of like a grapple to pick up, throw, and move items around. Every item has a value, while some can even be used as weapons against enemies. You bring everything back to your ship before depositing it at the final extraction point. The objective is to meet your quota, although you can always stay out longer to search for more loot if you think it’s worth the risk. It all depends on whether you’ve stocked up on enough supplies to keep both yourself and your ship alive.
The combat itself is pretty decent, although I do think it could use a bit more work. It feels like the type of game where you earn money, buy better equipment, and slowly improve over time. Thankfully, combat never really became frustrating. Most enemies at the scavenging locations are manageable and can be attacked by picking up and launching objects at them. I also have to mention that some of the enemy designs are genuinely terrifying, especially that ghost-like scuba diver that reminded me of the puppets from the movie *9*. The longer you stay at an extraction area, the more a purple eye meter fills up. Once it’s full, it triggers a boss-like enemy that attacks both you and your ship. Having to constantly manage and repair the ship alongside looting gives everything a really good sense of purpose.
I thought the game did a really good job of sticking true to the extraction-looter formula. The gameplay itself is fun and definitely keeps you hooked. However, we did encounter quite a few bugs that made some playthroughs difficult to finish. Bodies would randomly get flung out of the ship, while other players would phase in and out despite still being alive. Once the game is a little more polished and these strange glitches are ironed out, I think it will be an even better experience overall.
We are thankful to have been provided with several codes to test out the game with friends. One of the players, Vroggo, had the following to say, “Wreck Runners is similar to many other extraction games in the sense that players loot items, earn money, maybe fight or defend against monsters, and buy upgrades to make it farther into the run. The visuals of the game are amazing, but it just lags at higher resolutions for me. Ultimately, I needed to play the game on its lowest possible settings.
Apart from salvaging items from collection sites like other extraction games, I like that there is a set of mechanics related to managing the ship, the ORCA. There is a great emphasis put into exploring the map. Players have to actively coordinate with one another to navigate and drive towards points of interest.
The vehicle itself is pretty cool and makes the game more interesting. It can traverse through the land, water, and air! There will be times throughout the run where players will have to defend it from incoming monsters. Any damage done to the ship needs to be repaired using on-hand resources. Defending the ship properly means staying longer on the run to salvage more valuables.
I also like how interactive some of the sites are. Some rooms will appear locked or boarded up unless players work their way around that. So, there is that little bit of creativity and problem-solving to get into rooms that otherwise would have been locked to the player.
I found Wreck Runners to be a really fun extraction game, but not without some improvements. First and foremost, there are instances of item/player glitching that sometimes happen throughout the game, and there should also be more options for managing player lobbies, like player-specific volume adjustments and just being able to kick players as a host.
Overall, I would rate the game a 6/10 in its current state, but I can see this rating go up higher with more patches to the game”
Wreck Runners is a fun co-op extraction game with a satisfying gameplay loop and plenty of potential. While the lack of a proper tutorial, voice chat issues, and the occasional bugs can get in the way, the core experience is genuinely enjoyable, especially when played with friends. If you’re a fan of games like Murky Divers, Lethal Company, or other co-op extraction games, Wreck Runners is definitely worth checking out!
Overall: 6/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
