Blast invaders with your buddies when ‘Alienation’ local co-op arrives next week

By Gabe Gurwin June 29, 2016

a is one of the best games developer Housemarque has ever made, combining high-speed shootouts with colorful environments and three distinct classes. But when the game launched back in April, the only way to play with your friends was via the internet. That changes on July 5.

Local cooperative play has been an expected feature in Housemarque’s games, but it wasn’t ready by Alienation‘s release date and was promised as an addition in a future update. The studio took the same approach with Resogun, which initially launched for free alongside the PlayStation 4 before local co-op was added the following summer.

“Local co-op supports up to four players on the same screen, and in classic-friendship-breaking fashion, after opening loot crates, you’ll have to fight over who gets the loot,” says Housemarque community manager Tommaso De Benetti.

We can only hope that you and your friends have the patience to wait until after a firefight is over to go open loot crates. While Alienation is a cakewalk through the first few missions, it ends with a rage-inducing final mission that is nearly impossible to complete without very skilled and vigilant teammates.

To draw back players who may have stopped blasting aliens in the last few months, the update adds “Leagues” to the game, which last a week each and allow you to gain new cosmetic rewards based on your performance compared to other players. Two new difficulties, more “Hero levels,” and general tweaks to drop rates will also be included.

“At Housemarque we believe that community is king,” De Benetti says. “We read every comment you write and discuss every piece of feedback you send.”

If you’re looking for something a bit more immersive, Housemarque’s Super Stardust Ultra was recently announced for PlayStation VR, shifting the perspective to first-person to create something that looks like a completely different game.

Alienation is available now, exclusively for PlayStation 4.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

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