Insomniac Games’ fall 2014 Xbox One-exclusive, Sunset Overdrive, features an eight-player cooperative Chaos Mode that was revealed right around E3. Those that didn’t get a chance to try it out at the show — and that’s probably most of you, since E3 is industry-only — can get a better of how Chaos works, compliments of a new video and fresh Xbox Wire post that runs through some more specifics.
Chaos Mode unfolds in two separate pieces. The first is set in Sunset Overdrive‘s open world, with up to eight players casting their vote for one of two different missions. Complete that, and another vote pops up for two more missions. This continues over multiple rounds, with the choice of missions influencing the difficulty and eventual rewards to be earned in the second part of Chaos Mode: Night Defense.
Night Defense is basically a wave-based survival challenge in which all participating players need to keep attacking mutants away from their fort’s Overcharge supply (Overcharge is the energy drink that creates all those mutants in the first place). Placeable traps allow for some tactical planning before a round begins, and the battle wages on until the fort is safe.
To get the best rewards, you’ve got to choose missions that have a high Chaos rating during the day. Certain missions offer a team boost, which makes the going a bit easier but results in less awesome rewards for successful completion. The idea is to create a risk/reward scenario for players; do you want guaranteed victory, or do you want to gamble everything on bigger rewards?