Back in December, I wrote an article about a new tactical first-person shooter called Nine to Five that was announced during the Game Awards. The initial details were sparse, but there was a fair amount of hype around the idea of a game that pitted three teams of three players against each other over three rounds. I got beat up by some readers for hyping up a game we knew little about, so here is my penance. This last week I was invited to the official Discord for Nine to Five, and I have some news to share.
Tactical FPS
The first knock against Nine to Five was the over-use of the term “tactical FPS”. I was asked on Reddit what that even means, as even Call of Duty considers itself a tactical FPS these days. I define a tactical FPS as anything that resembles Rainbow 6 Siege.
Good news: it looks like the folks at Redhill Games are putting a fair amount of Rainbow 6 Siege in Nine to Five. While the developers were unwilling to comment on whether there would be a concept of operators in their game, they were clear that the gameplay was leaning more towards something like Rainbow 6 Siege than a game like Arma 3.
Additionally, the team at Redhill Games did clarify that Nine to Five will have a lean mechanic. If you have played any amount of Rainbow 6 Siege, you may find yourself missing this feature from most modern first-person shooters. I know that the inclusion of a lean mechanic has made me more excited than I was prior.
Loadouts and Game Modes
While the developers were not willing to comment on the inclusion of specific operator types, they were clear that they were prioritizing loadouts. The response gave the general feeling that while roles in a team may be necessary, they want you to prioritize what feels useful to you. They also briefly mentioned that Nine to Five would have a fair amount of customization, which is exciting.
There have also been a lot of questions about game modes. When Redhill first announced Nine to Five, they talked about an interesting evolving competition. The Redhill crew outlined one game mode that meets that promise.
In the game mode, they described a scenario where, in the first round, the three teams of three players fight it out to gather a piece of intelligence. During the second round, the team who captured the intelligence must defend it as the other two teams aim to steal it. In the final round, whoever has the intelligence must try to exfil while the other teams attempt to stop them. The latter two rounds put teams in an exciting situation.
If all the game modes are similar to the one described, I think we could be in for an enjoyable time.
Alpha Test
While there is no news as to when the alpha test begins, you can still sign up. Additionally, Redhill Games is conducting a “Friends and Family Test” very soon. If you are based in Europe, you may even have time to sign up for it.
Conclusion
While we only know marginally more now than we did a month ago, it’s nice to have some idea about where the game is headed. Based on my interactions in the Discord, this game is very early in development. The developers are not committing to certain things, but I think that’s okay. Redhill has some exciting things in the work; they have even hinted at “new mechanics,” and I am excited to see how it pans out
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