Please do not let this one pass you by.
There’s a bit in that trailer where the player legs it into a cupboard, only to turn around and hear their gun click emptily at a pursuing buzzer drone. That’s Receiver. It’s about dealing with the agonising, dread-inducing foibles of realistically-modelled weaponry, where every safety and hammer and slide rail and feed ramp spells potential disaster. I just had to deal with one of those awful listless clicks myself, thanks to leaving my revolver’s hammer primed and being unable to snap the chamber shut. It’s also about keeping your cool through tension sharp enough to cut your thumb off. As well as ammo and weapons, you’re supposed to be collecting cassette tapes that unravel a mysterious psychic robo-pocalypse. Death is only ever one tiny oversight away, and I never came close to collecting all those tapes in the first game. Given how similar Receiver 2 is, my hopes are not high about pulling that off this time either. It’s got exactly the same structure, but with more weapons and ideas. There are turrets that only turn on when you walk past them now, and they are the best worst thing. I’ll let you know Wot I Think in full later this week, once I’ve played more and had a chance to calm down a bit. With its 25% launch discount, you can nab Receiver 2 from Steam for £12/$18/€15.
