One video game industry hallmark of the 2010s was a thorough exploration of the survival MMO genre. Titles like Rust brought the idea of survival MMOs to the forefront, gaining great popularity with viewers and content creators on Twitch and YouTube. The genre hasn't gone away, though. Rust recently surged back into popularity with content creators on shared servers, and newer titles like Escape from Tarkov and Fallout 76 are still shaping the genre. One more game that's poised to leave an impact on survival MMOs is The Day Before, which blends a post-apocalyptic earth setting with a heavy emphasis on zombies.

The Day Before's core concept isn't new, as its many comparisons to DayZ and The Division suggest, but it's the execution on its concepts that draws fans in. It promises lots of liberty exploring the post-apocalyptic world, battling undead hordes, and hunting other players. There's one important thing that The Day Before needs to deliver on to make those elements pay off, though. Its world can't just be one loot dump after another. It needs to have lots of unique and engaging areas that actively encourage exploration in ways beyond just offering more supplies. The Day Before's success will really be hampered if its world map is so big that it feels empty.

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Considering its concept, The Day Before has the means to avoid feeling empty. Countless zombie apocalypse games before it have proven that the bones of civilization are full of stories just waiting to be discovered. The Day Before needs to have diverse locations that show how the recent apocalypse tore the world apart. What's more, those locations should have special and interesting equipment that make them worth visiting for more competitive players. If there's just generalized loot hotspots all over the place, players will feel demotivated to explore. Even loot zones of different rarities aren't quite enough. Special types of equipment in specific, hard-to-reach locations will encourage players to take risks and travel far and wide.

Being big will help The Day Before's map have room for all kinds of special locations like this. However, that doesn't mean that The Day Before's map should be so big that players literally get lost in it -- there's such a thing as too big. Even if towns, cities, and other abandoned sites are well decorated and stocked with loot, maps that are too big will keep players far apart and prevent the PvP battles that are one of The Day Before's biggest draws. PvP is one of the main elements that'll help The Day Before really feel lived-in and thrilling. Games like Sea of Thieves have received criticism for having bigger maps than they know what to do with. Ideally, The Day Before won't be like that.

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It helps that The Day Before seems relatively easy to explore. Its gameplay trailers suggest that vehicles will be relatively accessible, and that developer FNTASTIC is trying to develop realistic terrain like mud to make exploring on four wheels more interesting. Regular access to vehicles will give The Day Before a big advantage over lower-tech survival MMOs like Rust where players often start out cobbling together basic equipment with wood and rocks. A truly huge map in The Day Before will feel less daunting if players can count on cars to get from point A to point B. That'd also encourage FNTASTIC to strike an interesting balance between notable, engaging locations with good loot and scenic, immersive paths players can take when driving around.

To be sure, The Day Before is worthy of having a really huge map that can support a lot of players at once. The stakes of exploration and looting will feel a lot higher if players know they have competitors on all sides and that they always have to be wary. A map that's too small would resort in near-constant PvP that could prevent players from getting anything done. Still, a map that's too big might ultimately be worse, since it would mean players quickly run out of things to do. Hopefully FNTASTIC already has a plan for balancing the size of the map against the content inside it. If it manages that, then The Day Before will have a big leg up when it finally releases.

The Day Before is in development for PC.

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