Join Us stands out as a co-op open-world survival game where you take on the role of a cult leader preparing for an impending apocalypse. This title blends action, simulation, and adventure elements, letting you recruit followers, construct bases, and defend against threats in a satirical take on doomsday scenarios. Set in a dynamic world, it emphasizes resource management with humans as the key asset, all while supporting multiplayer cooperation for up to four players.
Gameplay
In Join Us, the core loop revolves around building and expanding your cult in an open-world environment. You start by recruiting characters from the game world, each with unique strengths like farming or combat skills, and assign them tasks to grow your operations. Managing follower happiness is crucial, as dissatisfaction can lead to desertions, leaving you isolated. The game incorporates permadeath, meaning dead characters stay gone, adding tension to every decision.
Combat plays a significant role, with a variety of weapons available to fend off locals, police, and government forces opposed to your activities. You can craft a belief system that influences your cult's abilities, functioning like a dynamic skill tree that evolves over time. Base building lets you design compounds, manage resources, and customize defenses, while propaganda and infamy mechanics help attract more recruits.
Game Modes
Join Us offers flexibility in how you experience its world, supporting both solo play and cooperative multiplayer. In single-player mode, you handle all aspects of cult management alone, making strategic choices to survive and expand. The co-op mode allows up to four players to team up, dividing tasks like recruitment, building, and combat to build a shared cult empire.
This setup encourages collaboration, where friends can join forces to tackle challenges, perform missions, and prepare for the apocalypse together. There are no additional named modes, keeping the focus on the core survival and building experience across these play styles.
Building and Customization
Customization forms a backbone of Join Us, starting with your cult's compound. You construct buildings, set up defenses, and allocate followers to various roles, turning a basic setup into a fortified base. The belief system lets you define unique doctrines, such as those involving UFOs or other eccentric themes, which carry consequences for gameplay and follower behavior.
Recruitment involves turning civilians and enemies into loyal members through propaganda and demonstrations of power. Each follower's traits affect their efficiency, requiring thoughtful assignment to maximize productivity. The open-world aspect allows exploration to expand territory, gather resources, and encounter new potential recruits or threats.
Is It Worth Playing?
Join Us appeals to those who enjoy survival games with a twist of satire and social management. If base building, resource allocation with human elements, and co-op action against escalating threats sound engaging, this game delivers a fresh take on the genre. The permadeath system heightens stakes, rewarding careful planning and quick thinking.
For players seeking chaotic multiplayer sessions or solo strategic depth, it provides solid replayability through varied belief choices and world interactions. However, if you prefer straightforward action without management layers, it might feel overwhelming. Currently in its early stages post-announcement, it shows promise for fans of open-world survival titles looking for something unconventional.
