What Project Hardline is
Project Hardline is a first person shooter built around short, fast rounds. Two teams of mercenaries go at each other in an arena, and each round ends either when one team is wiped out or when a team captures the uplink station. That station holds vital intel, so holding it is the whole point of the match. The look is cartoony and minimalist, and the shooting uses physics based gun mechanics rather than heavy simulation, which keeps the pace quick and readable.
How a group plays it together
The game is set up for a party of friends who want a casual shooter to jump into. You split into two teams and fight over the same objective round after round, so the group stays together in one match instead of scattering into separate lobbies. Online PvP is the mode on offer, so your friends join over the internet and the match fills out from there. Because rounds are short and the goals are simple — eliminate the other team or take the uplink — nobody needs to learn a long ruleset before they can contribute.
The comeback mechanic
Losing a round is not the end of it. Every time a team loses, that team returns with better weapons, gear and equipment, so a deficit gets clawed back over the course of a match. This keeps a group in the game even after a rough start and gives later rounds a different feel from the opening ones, since loadouts shift as the match runs.
Before you start
The game is developed nearly entirely by one person, so content updates may be slow and sporadic. Bugs can still exist because testing resources are limited. Bug reports are welcome, and considerable bugs and errors are patched quickly, but expect rough edges in the meantime. Go in expecting a light, casual arena shooter rather than a polished competitive title, and treat odd behavior as something the developer wants to hear about.