![]() You always know when you’re being watched, and the game incentivizes you to put on a good show. Fans can make sure their favorite players get exactly what they need, or send a bomb to kill players they think are spoiling the fun.įor players, Hero not only tracks how many people are watching you - both on your stream and other players’ - as well as how they react to what you do, it shows you that information as you’re playing. Players can signal for occasional supply drops throughout each match to get better gear, but the Hero.TV audience gets to decide what goes in the drop. Viewers also have some agency over the match itself. To add extra tracking and features to the livestreaming experience, Outpost Games created an custom Twitch overlay for SOS, which it calls “Hero.” Viewers who watch Twitch streams through Outpost’s Hero website,, have access to extra controls, which let them react to what they’re watching with Facebook-like reaction emojis. The game constantly shows you how many people are watching you online when you play SOS, so you know exactly how big your audience is. SOS isn’t just aware of how huge a part of the gaming experience streaming has become, but which actively requires and encourages it. Their ultimate goal is to obtain one of only a few idol statues scattered around the island, then signal for a helicopter, and escape. Each of the competitors starts alone on the beach of an island populated with killer ape-like monsters. The central narrative conceit of SOS is that of a TV reality game show, flavored with a bit of post-modern gladiatorial spectator bloodsport, a la The Hunger Games or Battle Royale. It’s a game you can win by talking, potentially without ever firing a shot. Catering to the crowd is just as important as winning. In a world where streaming and video recording have become huge elements of the gaming scene, SOS turns the idea of having an audience into an actual game mechanic. The goal isn’t to be the “last player standing:” On the contrary, SOS is about making friends, working together, probably betraying each other, and making the whole thing fun for a live, streaming audience to watch. In each match, 16 players all start alone on an island with no weapons, hoping to be one of the few to make it out alive - but that’s about where the similarities with PUBG end. The game, which hits Steam Early Access Tuesday, sounds a bit like the lately ubiquitous PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds at first, but it’s ultimately plays more like a mixture of tactical military sim DayZ, and the seminal reality TV show Survivor. Outpost Games’ SOS may well be the first video game reality show. Other players must “buy in” for it to be fun ![]() Players vying for attention may feel overwhelming Performative gameplay won't appeal to everyone
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