The Nullpoint

There are countless UFO and alien abduction stories all over the world, some of which are more credible than others, although no clear evidence has surfaced yet. Being kidnapped by beings from other planets sound like one hell of an experience, on the other hand, especially if they are not the friendly kind of aliens, but the kind that likes to stick probes all over the place.

The Nullpoint is a top-down survival game that mixes rogue-like elements with RTT gameplay mechanics and a few RPG influences, so it’s definitely a curious concoction. On top of all this, the levels are procedurally generated and you need to carefully plan your approach in every scenario. Enemies make life difficult for the survivors, and the ammunition is scarce at best.

Story-wise, the action takes place on an alien spaceship that appeared in our solar system in the future year of 2109. Naturally, humans decided to go out and make contact with the ship, as well as explore it after no one answered from within. Things did not go as planned, so many people died after the initial encounter with the aliens. Now, it is up to you and a handful of survivors to make it out alive, using everything at your disposal to do so.

Gameplay-wise, the isometric perspective is not exactly fixed, which means that you are allowed to rotate the camera in the desired position and get a better look at the environment. You use the mouse to move around by clicking on the spot you want your character to move to, and it is also possible to select more than one survivor at the same time. During combat, all you have to do is click on the enemy in order to attack, which is not exactly tactical, but things are bound to change.

Items and resources are important as well, since they allow you to survive any kind of situation. Whether it’s ammunition or medkits, they can all be found around the spaceship, which is rather weird when you think about it. As far as the visual quality is concerned, the game uses the Unity engine to render everything, so it doesn’t look bad at all. Remember that this is a prototype, however, so it might not always work as intended.

The Nullpoint might have what it takes to make it in the end, but only if the developers keep on adding features and improving the combat system. The procedurally-generated levels are nice in theory, but they kind of look the same in many aspects, which is not so nice.

Note: The Nullpoint is currently undergoing a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, so you can show your support by visiting the official project page and donating the desired sum of money.