Co-op zombie games usually encourage players to stay together, but SAFE INSIDE is taking that idea much further by making separation potentially permanent.
Developed by Broken Chair Studios, SAFE INSIDE is an upcoming first-person zombie shooter where players must fight through hordes of infected while travelling between saferooms across the East Coast of the United States.
At first glance, the setup will feel familiar to anyone who has played games like Left 4 Dead. Players move through campaign-style environments, battle large groups of fast-moving infected and encounter mutated creatures with unique abilities designed to exploit weaknesses within the team.
However, SAFE INSIDE introduces some interesting mechanics designed to make teamwork much more important.
Players will communicate using proximity voice chat, meaning you will only be able to easily speak with teammates who are actually close to you. Wander too far from the group and you could suddenly find yourself isolated with no idea where everybody else has gone.
Things become even more stressful because certain events and decisions during a campaign can deliberately force the group to split up.
Players may have to continue towards the saferoom alone or in smaller groups, and those who arrive first will be faced with a difficult decision.
They can wait and hope the missing members of the team eventually appear, or permanently lock the saferoom door.
Once that door closes, anybody still outside is lost.
The group might not even know whether their missing teammate has already been overwhelmed, is still fighting their way through the level or is only moments away from reaching safety.
It could lead to some particularly tense co-op situations, especially when players have limited information and need to decide how long they are willing to risk waiting.
SAFE INSIDE will feature multiple campaigns covering different environments as survivors travel south along America’s East Coast in search of safety.
Broken Chair Studios has already revealed locations including snow-covered suburbs and eerie hospitals in New England before the journey eventually reaches the warmer, heavily overgrown marshlands of the Carolinas.
The infected themselves will also vary considerably. While many became fast and aggressive following the initial outbreak, others have mutated beyond their original human forms and developed specialised characteristics.
These more dangerous enemies are designed to identify weaknesses within the surviving group and take advantage of them, potentially making players who become separated even more vulnerable.
Combined with proximity chat and the possibility of teammates being permanently left behind, SAFE INSIDE appears to be leaning heavily into the unpredictable stories that can emerge naturally during co-op matches.
One campaign could see the entire group comfortably reach the saferoom together, while another could end with two players desperately waiting beside the door as their missing teammates attempt to find their way back.
SAFE INSIDE is currently in development for PC and has a Steam page available now. Both single-player and online co-op are listed, although Broken Chair Studios has not yet announced a release date.
For players missing campaign-focused co-op zombie shooters, this could definitely be one to keep an eye on.