Cyberpunk FPS Defect’s secret fourth thing has me excited about a PvEvP for once.

The reveal trailer for Defect took me on an emotional rollercoaster. It's a gritty, grungy cyberpunk game with Lore. The soundtrack is by Mick Gordon (of neo Doom fame): When I hear the line "Play your friends in co-op or PvP:" then the crowd boos. After hearing more from Emanuel Palalic of developer emptyvessel, the crowd booed. The crowd may be cheering once again.

"We aren't an extraction shooter or hero shooter or some competitive tac-shooting," Palalic explained via email. Thank You. Look, I understand that there are many fans of the FPS genres of the moment, but we can't help but enjoy a non-extraction shooting game every now and then as a special treat. Defect is called an "Immersive Goal Shooter" by emptyvessel.

"We felt that there isn't another subgenre in FPS to describe our game than Immersive Shooters," Palalic said. "We added 'Objective,' because each team has a unique dynamic objective that they are following. It's similar to Ready or Not Swat or GTFO. One team may have an assassinate, or arrest objective for one of your teammates when you are trying complete your mission. Imagine playing Ready or Not, and another team ends up intercepting your mission and adding tension.

SWAT is a singleplayer game, period. The same goes for the other big influences Palalic cited: S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Metro, and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. SWAT is a singleplayer game, period. The same goes for the other influences Palalic mentioned: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Metro and The Chronicles of Riddick - Escape from Butcher Bay. Palalic emphasized that in addition to atmosphere and presentation a minimal user interface, as well as diegetic information, and interactive environmental details, are a large part of the games emptyvessel hopes to translate into multiplayer.

Palalic said, "We want players to feel immersed in a world that is rich in narrative and setting. We are removing as much traditional UI from the game as possible, and displaying the information on gadgets and guns, as well as in the actual game world."

"We are taking measures to make Defect feel alive. This will allow us to have unique ways of telling a story, and setting the tone in the world itself when playing Co-op or PvP with your friends." Each player can equip unique gadgets and weapons in the world and use these to communicate and work with their friends.

It's a sick sounding game, and it makes me forget any doubts I had that "Immersive-Objective Shooter" was just a slick marketing term. Words still mean something, and Defect sounds like a multiplayer shooter with immersive sim elements. Palalic described the combat as "rock-paper-scissors-like", with certain enemies requiring "quick swapping combinations" and on the fly strategic adjustments. The developer compared it to Doom.

It's early days yet for Defect but it has a lot going for it. It's not just a slick video and some good tunes. Even if it's just the homage to 2012's Karl Urban Dredd, I might be able to convince one of my adult work-at-home friends to play with me. You can wishlist Defect on Steam, even though it does not have a release date.