Blackout Protocol’s Closed Beta Begins — Here’s What You Need To Know

Ocean Drive Studio's Blackout Protocol is now open for testing.

The game developer recently announced it had opened the closed beta for its second game, Blackout Protocol, for interested gamers to test and give feedback to.

The is no word when the game will be officially out, but its closed is open for potential testers from Jan. 12 to Jan. 16.

Blackout Protocol Introduction

Blackout Protocol, for those unaware, is a rogue-lite twin-stick shooter that lets players team up with two other friends and explore the depths of a top-secret research facility overrun with "otherworldly horrors," per Gamepress.

According to the game's Steam webpage, players put on the shoes of S2P Corporation employees, a company similar to the SCP Foundation. However, instead of sealing away paranatural entities, the S2P Corporation uses them to advance humanity by researching them.

Unfortunately, the research facility the company uses experienced an internal containment breach, knocking out the power at Section 13, where S2P keeps its most dangerous subjects. It's up to the players to investigate what exactly happened within Sector 13 and shed light on what lies within.

Like many rogue-lite games, players only need to explore, point, and shoot their way to the finish. However, the game comes with friendly fire activated, meaning they are as much a threat to their friends as the paranatural entities they seek to defeat.

It also doesn't help that Sector 13 has narrow corridors and shifting architecture that makes friendly fire incidents likely.

Additionally, the game introduces a Panic Gauge that shows how afraid a player's character is, adding a sense of humanity to player characters similar to Project Zomboid. Neglecting the Panic Gauge can have deadly consequences if it fills up to the brim at the worst possible moment.

Thankfully, the paranatural entities in the game are afraid of the light, though some react in unique ways once exposed to it.

Getting killed by these monsters doesn't mean "game over," though. the game offers players the Death Nullification System that sends player characters' consciousness back in time to when they're still alive, preserving certain skills and abilities between runs. Players can also choose to stay dead for a few hours before they are ultimately resuscitated.

How To Sign Up For The Closed Beta

Gamers interested in testing the game's current build during its closed beta can do so by going to its Steam webpage and clicking on the "Request Access" button. Doing so brings out a prompt confirming their desire to try the game out. Clicking on the "Request Access" button again will let Ocean Drive Studio know of their desire to join the closed beta.

Gamers will then have to wait for an email from Ocean Drive confirming if they are selected to join the game's closed beta.

Dong Soo Oh, the game's creative director, mentioned that Blackout Protocol's closed beta is an important milestone for the company as it verifies the game's fundamentals, along them to fix many major issues before releasing the final game.

"We ask that our players play and give us as much feedback as possible to ensure we have the fundamentals down before we bring it to early access," he said.

Should everything go well, the game developer will officially launch the game within a year of Early Access.