Dr. Disrespect’s dynamic NFT shooter ‘Deadrop’ is off to a promising start

Game studio Midnight Society was a product of gaming personality Dr. Disrespect’s frustrations with current state of shooters. The larger-than-life content creator (aka Guy Beahm) co-founded the team with veterans of franchises like Call of Duty and Halo, all with the goal of creating a competitive shooter to rival the likes of Call of Duty Warzone and Apex Legends.

Given that pedigree, it’s no surprise that Deaddrop quickly became one of the most anticipated Web3 game ahead, as the PC-based vertical extraction shooter sold out 10,000 Founders Pass NFTs in March 2022. Everyone who created the pass has been able to play test builds of the game as it takes shape.

One year later, Deaddrop’s The Snapshot V pre-alpha build was showcased in front of thousands of viewers at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas last month, and Midnight Society dropped $25 “Tower Key” non-NFT access cards to let in an even bigger potential audience.

An in-game screenshot from Deaddrop. Image: Decrypt

With an access key provided courtesy of Midnight Society, I booted up my PC and jumped into the game to see what all the buzz was about – and whether Deaddrop is already showing signs of being one of the first Web3 games to live up to the hype.

Goes vertically

You’re dropped into a cyberpunk-style map called Cold Storage with the goal of grabbing loot from the ground, out of boxes, or off the bodies of dead players before heading back to safety.

As time progresses, the freezing point rises from the bottom of the map – this can be compared to the “gas” or “storm” in other hit battle royale games that force players towards a certain part of the world (and eventually closer to each other). In this case, players are pushed up the skyscraper in Cold Storage before they can extract, hence the “vertical extraction shooter” tag.

There are four ways to pull out of the level and get out alive: a zipline, a helicopter, a dynamically created street, or the super elevator – where all surviving players can team up and pull out together, or otherwise choose to fight against death. Only the last player standing will be rewarded with an item of their choice.

You have three lives in Deaddrop; after your first death you respawn as a “SYN”. Currently there is no gameplay difference when playing as a SYN other than a glitchy overlay. However, co-founder and studio head Robert Bowling balked Snapshot V event that SYNs “are relevant and deep in lore” but for now they are a “really good respawn mechanic.”

Once you’ve returned home, you can store the loot in the stash and then redeploy, either without equipment or with the loot you retrieved. Remember though: if you don’t move out with your stuff, it’s gone forever.

Tarkov meets Apex Legends

Given that Deaddrop is an extraction shooter, it’s natural to compare it to Escape From Tarkov – but in reality it’s much less tactical than that. Instead, I think a more natural comparison is the popular battle royale shooter Apex Legends, with fluid movement at the core of the game.

You are given a number of options to move around the map. You can slide, bunny-hop, use ziplines and climb pipes and ladders, as well as holster your weapon for extra speed. Players have begun weaving these elements together creatively, resulting in parkour-like gameplay feats that even John Wick would be proud of.

A look at the lobby in Deaddrop. Image: Decrypt

In gunfights, you’ll find yourself relying on nimble movements to help you get into a position of power or to creatively rush your opponent—rarely will you need to rely solely on weapon skill.

There is a good selection of weapons in the game currently, including a handful of shotguns and pistols, an LMG, SMG, DMR, assault rifle and sniper. Each of these weapons can be modified with barrels, magazines, stocks, gadgets, sights and weapon mods – a very rare item that will upgrade your weapon.

Unfortunately, the gunplay is where Deaddrop lacks bite at this point; the weapons lack heft, and landing shots currently feel mostly unfulfilling.

One of the reasons for this could be due to the lack of recoil that each weapon has as of now, which makes shooting feel unrealistic and unresponsive at times. Another issue is the sound design for the weapons. Firing a firearm should feel powerful – they are, after all, literal death machines. But in Deaddrop, at least so far they lack pop.

What about Web3?

Despite being widely known as a Web3 game, there are no blockchain-based elements in the game. The Founders Pass NFTs are the only current Web3 item, and the polygon-based NFTs provide access to the preview builds and other in-game perks. They are currently starting at around $580 worth of ETH on secondary marketplaces.

However, keep in mind that Deaddrop is in pre-alpha, and Midnight Society may not want to put the cart before the horse and implement NFT or token elements until you polish the core game. The studio declined to comment on its future plans on the Web3 front, but a recent viral tweet from Dr. Disrespect suggests that loot may come in the form of NFTs in the future.

“Imagine trying to ‘unbox’ with an item you discovered worth $100,000 on the chain,” he tweeted in early March, ahead of the Snapshot V release.

It will add a lot more weight to Deaddrop, which currently has a slightly unprofitable gameplay loop. Right now it’s certainly sad to lose your fully equipped weapons, but it feels like you can get everything back with enough time – except for the weapon mods.

But if you knew you’d just looted an item that was extremely rare and expensive on a secondary marketplace, getting safely out of the world would have some serious stakes.

Imagine you’re in a 1v1 shooting, you have an expensive item in your backpack, and you’re low on health. You have a position of power over the enemy and a sniper rifle in hand. Just hit your shot. Your heart would pump out of your chest!

The last player standing can select an item from this screen. Image: Decrypt

That said, if such NFT functionality is incorporated, there needs to be strong anti-cheat measures as well as a way to reverse damage caused by hackers. And even if the security was airtight, would you ever want to play a game with such high stakes? Imagine the heartache if you lost an item worth $100,000.Someone crypto degenerates however, may find it irresistible.

You can also hope that items valued this high wouldn’t be extremely overpowered in the game, otherwise Deaddrop would become profitable to win and lose the competitive edge.

Dr. Disrespect may be speaking in hyperbole right now, which he is known to do – but then again, non-NFT weapon skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) have sold for nearly $400,000. It’s easy to see how a properly tokenized model could recreate such demand, but there’s no certainty at this point that Deaddrop will become a CS:GO-like phenomenon.

Worth stopping by?

Every six weeks a new Deaddrop snapshot is scheduled in development with new features, tweaks and upgrades to the game. Currently in the “proxy” art phase – the second of a four-part phase system – the game is an unpolished product by Midnight Society’s own admission.

For a game in pre-alpha, there are some promising ingredients that could make for a great game in the future. The movement and vertical design is really fun, and the possibility of tradable and potentially valuable NFTs added to this just makes things more exciting.

But in this still-early state, the unsatisfying gunplay remains the weakest part of the experience. If Midnight Society can get its guns in a good place – alongside the wider improvement of the game as it goes from snapshot to snapshot – Deaddrop could well match the over-the-top energy of its brash and boastful progenitor.