Preview by: Justin Amirkhani

For all its spookiness the FEAR franchise has never been renowned for its multiplayer. In spite of this fact, developer Day 1 Studios hasn’t given up on innovating for the latest installment. Showcasing a brand new multiplayer mode titled ‘F**cking Run!’ Warner Bros. may have a reason for people to play beyond the campaign.

The game sets itself simply enough, as a team of four players must work together to reach a linear objective and kill lots of enemies in the process; the more you kill, the higher your score. Naturally, players must work together to survive because if one player dies then the whole team fails.

What makes this mode different from every other co-op shooter is the aptly named ‘Wall of Death’, a giant death-cloud of screaming faces. The wall chases players through the map and will kill anything it touches, forcing players to keep a constant momentum. Any stragglers caught in the cloud will instantly end the game for their entire team. This leads to heated moments between players, either blaming each other for falling behind or abandoning the team. It can be stressful if you’re playing in a group that doesn’t work together, but that has always been the sign of a good co-op mode.

The levels shown were all very linear with almost no noticeable splitting paths. This seems to be intended to keep things simple as providing too many options could confuse players at critical moments as the wall of death is bearing down. Instead, occasionally the level will offer small enclaves or closed paths with weapons and ammo. You have to choose between forgoing the firepower or slowing down, either of which could lead to death.