FEAR, the psychological first-person shooter that’s scared the pants off of countless gamers over the course of our current generation, hasn’t finished its mission quite yet. However, if you’re a fan of the isolated, single-player aspect of the franchise, the announcement of FEAR Online might not be what you’ve been waiting for. The project is being developed by Koean-based Inplay Interactive for Windows PC, and yes, it’s a free-to-play shooter that’s doing all it can be everything its predecessors are not.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: FEAR Online is a team-based shooter where both human and inhuman characters do battle in various enclosed maps. Score limits will be reached, soldiers will experience progression, and upgrades will be bought in order to reach new levels of profiency. The Soul King mechanic from FEAR 3 will allow players to possess enemies, learn their abilities, and collect wandering soul, and there will be narrative ties to what we’ve seen from the franchise in the past. The story beats in FEAR Online will parallel events from FEAR 2: Project Origin.
"We are thrilled to present the next entry in one of the most popular horror franchises of the last decade," said Aeria Games' vice president of PC games Tom Nichols in a press statement. "FEAR Online will bring back the tense, heart-pounding action that the series is known for and make it accessible to a huge online community of competitive players."
Multiplayer isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you mention FEAR, but that won’t stop Aeria from bringing a competitive spin on the series to the PC. If you’re interested in signing up for the upcoming beta, head on over to the Aeria Games website for more information. If this doesn't interest you, just remember that original developer Monolith has a cross-gen, open-world title in the works.
