What Overload is
Overload is a six-degree-of-freedom shooter from the creators of Descent. You fly a ship through zero-gravity complexes, moving and aiming freely in every direction rather than staying pinned to a floor. The single-player story campaign has 15+ full-size atmospheric levels built around destroying robots, rescuing survivors, blowing up the reactor and escaping before the place explodes. Along the way you face 20+ robot types and 3 massive bosses, with level hazards like lava, forcefields, enemy turrets, lockdowns, ambushes and secret rooms. Your ship is upgradeable, and there are 16 weapons with multiple upgrade options. Five difficulty settings run from a casual challenge to very punishing, and there is a Speed Run mode with advanced stat-tracking. An automap and Holo-guide help you navigate the complexes, and you can save anywhere.
Playing together
Overload has online multiplayer action for up to 8 players across 10 levels sized for a range of match counts. You can set up ranked matches or private ones with a variety of rules and options, and LAN matches are available if one PC runs as a dedicated server. Before a match you can customize your ship with modifiers, loadouts and visual enhancements, so your group can settle on a ruleset and loadouts that suit how you play. Outside of multiplayer there is a single-player story campaign, an intense survival mode, and 12+ Challenge Mode levels with Infinite and Countdown variants that shift the focus to Survival or Efficiency.
Before you start
Controls are highly customizable and remappable, and the game supports mouse and keyboard, gamepad, or joystick and keyboard. VR support covers Oculus and Vive, and Tobii eye tracking can drive secondary weapons, the headlight and the UI. Surround sound audio options are available, and the soundtrack comes from Dan Wentz, Allister Brimble and Jerry Berlongieri. Steam Achievements and Leaderboards are included. The store notes that a custom level editor will be released in an update after launch, so it is not part of the game as shipped. Expect a steep challenge at the higher difficulty settings: the game is tagged as difficult, and six-degree-of-freedom movement takes time to get used to before the combat clicks.