Barren

"Barren" is a free downloadable game for the PS4. Combining the first person shooter, strategy and creator genres of game, the player is tasked with being rebuilding a city after a meteorite crashes into Earth carrying a virus that turns infected humans into carnivorous creatures in various forms of mutation. The player has to provide food to their citizens, expand their territory and population and engage in close- combat battles with the mutants. The latest version is 4.1, after a new job was added on 25th August.

Introduction & Gameplay
The game has only one mode; that being the campaign. Upon the first time playing, there is a cutscene that lasts a few minutes, where text bubbles explain what is happening in the game; there is an animation that runs alongside the explanation illustrating the events leading up to the game (mainly the meteor strike and the effects through the eyes of the character and news reports). After the cutscene ends, the main character is seen from a third person perspective (the only time this happens in the game) and mutters 'It's all up to me now.' (The only time the main character speaks in the game). The cutscene is only seen upon starting the game for the first time; however, it can be viewed again if the player selects 'view intro' in the options. After a minute, the cutscene can be skipped.

The game then cuts to the main HUD and the tutorial begins. By pressing the start button, the tutorial can be skipped. It can, however, be accessed through options.

The game takes place in an unnamed coastal US state, which, as of V4.1, has 24 building sites. The default building site is a deserted plain which will always be the location of the armory, farm and barracks. As is the case with most city creator games, the game uses a grid system to make building easier. The city must be developed in order to accommodate more survivors. Most buildings are constructed using a mixture of 4 materials: Bricks, steel, wood and glass. All materials can be obtained in various ways; including demolishing existing buildings, harvesting from newly invaded building sites, building a factory that supplies a certain material or by trading with friends. Once a building site cannot be built on any more and the player has 5 or more survivors in their team (they have 10 by default) they can attack new building sites which will always be overrun with mutants, bringing in the first person shooter part of the game.