The open beta for the upcoming Rogue-Looter-Shooter SYNCED begins soon

Synced is a new third-person shooter that will be available for free on Steam in December.

If there's one thing we've learned from popular media, it's that the machines will rise up and kick our asses sooner or later. For those who haven't yet gotten the message, here's another chance: Synced, an upcoming third-person roguelite looter-shooter that will enter open beta testing in December.

Synced is set in the near future, after an event known as the Collapse, in which the nanomachines we'd come to rely on for our civilization's day-to-day operations decided they could do better as a solo act. As a result, they began propagating themselves by consuming humans—I'm not sure how that works, but this is a videogame, not a science class—and eventually mutated into lethal creatures known as Nanos. It is now up to you and your friends to face them as Runners: fortune-seekers who run through the dangerous Meridian region in search of a substance known as "nano-energy."

It's not the most original (or coherent) reason to blow up killer robots that I've ever seen, but it does promise a unique gameplay trick: Players can "synchronize" with Nanos, transforming them from foes to allies. The combination of different Nano classes—Crusher, Seer, Guardian, and Suppressor—and individual player loadouts and skills, according to Next Studios, "allows for a broad variety of combinations and tactical approaches."

Many new games make big promises, but the good news about Synced is that an open beta will begin on December 10, so you can check it out. Of course, it will not be complete, but it will include both PvP and PvE content and will be available for free to all. New content will be released throughout the beta, and beta participants will receive a reward in the full game; however, because Synced is still in development, progress will not be carried over: As the saying goes, this is a one-way trip.

This is what you'll need to play—these aren't finalised system requirements, but rather a starting point for the beta.

Minimum:

OS: Windows 7.1/8/10       

Processor: Intel i5 2.4GHz       

Graphics: GeForce GTX 660    

Memory: 16GB RAM       

Storage: 35 GB available space

Network: Broadband Internet connection       

Recommended:

OS: Windows 7.1/8/10        

Processor: Intel i7 3.4GHz     

Graphics: GeForce RTX 2060 or higher          

Memory: 16GB RAM        

Storage: 35 GB available space

Network: Broadband Internet connection        

The Synced beta will be available via Steam as well as a standalone launcher at syncedthegame.com (opens in new tab). Naturally, there is a Discord server(opens in new tab) where you can hang out while waiting for the beta to begin.

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