Killing Floor 2 comes to Steam Early Access on April 21

The Zeds are still on the loose, continuing to dismember and maim anything in their path. Only the most hardened teams will be able to survive the onslaught in Killing Floor 2, Tripwire Interactive's sequel to their 2005 horde shooter. While the sequel is set to introduce many new elements, players will get a chance to try out a more classic Killing Floor experience with the Steam Early Access version of the sequel set to hit PC on April 21. Last week, Shacknews had the opportunity to try out the Early Access version of the game to see what's coming up in the world of Killing Floor.

Killing Floor 2 takes players to new locales, with the Zed outbreak having spread to Europe. Among the new areas on display were the streets of Paris, a Horzine Biotech factory under siege, and an outdoor military outpost covered in snow. Environments (as well as zed models) appear noticeably improved, with areas like Burning Paris displaying neon lighting effects. The first thing players will notice upon starting up the game is that it feels mostly familiar, with horde shooting along open environments and zeds coming from just about any direction.

Indeed, the class-based system works just as it did with the first Killing Floor. The game contains four different classes, each with different weapons and perks. They include the gun-wielding Commando, the melee-based Berzerker, Support, and Field Medic. Perks will gradually unlock as the player levels up, with some designed to counteract certain zed abilities like those that can cloak themselves. Additional abilities set to be added in over the course of the game's continued development.

Normal difficulty, which I tried out with five other players, served as a good introduction to the horde action, showing off the game's classic zed specimens. The Bloat, Siren, Crawler, Stalker, Scrakes, and the others all return with their abilities completely intact. Taking out zeds will add to the player's dosh (currency) total, allowing them to purchase new weapons or armor in-between rounds.

While Normal offered up a sense of confidence, things soon intensified when the Tripwire developers switched the game to Hell on Earth difficulty. The Zeds not only proved far more difficult to take down, but they also exhibited noticeably more advanced intelligence. They'll show off additional moves, like parkour flips, sidesteps, and somersaults to avoid gunfire. They'll also come down from ceilings and quickly close gaps by vaulting over objects and lunging forward. Zeds will use their numbers to their advantage and use them to overwhelm any single player.

Killing Floor 2 will feel like more of the same Killing Floor for a chunk of the Early Access period, as Tripwire is aiming to get the game's basic foundation up and running before making any drastic additions. New zed types, perks, weapons, stages, and mod tools will gradually make their way into the game, with Tripwire noting that the final version will feel like a true evolution of the original Killing Floor experience. The studio is promising more surprises for Killing Floor fans in the coming weeks, including some new features.

Killing Floor 2 will hit Steam Early Access on April 21 for $29.99 with the final version aiming to release later this year.

Killing Floor 2 comes to Steam Early Access on April 21