Ghost in the Shell - SAC: First Assault Online

First Assault Online is a multiplayer FPS set in the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex universe that’s just launched on Steam Early Access. Stand Alone Complex is an anime series based on Masamune Shirow’s manga about Section 9, a group of cybernetically-enhanced operatives fighting cyber-terrorism in a futuristic Japan. This would be a great setting for a Deus Ex-style RPG, but Korean developer Neople has, instead, used it as the basis for a squad-based shooter.

“Picking a genre wasn't easy,” they explain. “But we were excited by episode 24 of season one, in which Section 9 are tested to their limits and forced to take on an opposing special ops team.” This episode, they say, made them imagine what it would be like to fight together as a perfectly synchronised team, and First Assault Online was born. You can play the Early Access version now for £4, but when it launches it’ll be free-to-play and come with the usual array of optional paid-for content.

The result of Neople’s desire to make you feel like you’re part of Section 9—whose cyber-brains are linked together when they fight in the series—is the SkillSync system. This encourages you to stick together by letting you share your squad’s special abilities including thermoptic camo, seeing through walls, and the ability to transform your arm into a missile launcher. If you’re near someone who has an ability activated, you can hit the E button and use it yourself. It’s a neat concept, and I did naturally find myself sticking close to my team as I played to leech their cyber-powers.