Summary
Gray Zone Warfare’s mysterious quarantine event sets up an intriguing premise for its story and setting, as players join a Private Military Company to navigate the vast open world of Lamang Island. Not much has been revealed about the story and lore ofGray Zone Warfare, no doubt leaving many players curious about what to expect in terms of narrative and quests in a game described as an immersive tactical FPS.
Game Rant recently spoke with MADFINGER Games' co-founder and creative director, Marek Rabas, about the backstory and lore surroundingGray Zone Warfare’s setting of Lamang Island, revealing more about what players can expect from its story and the role of storytelling in the game. Rabas also talked Zone Warfare’s quest design and what kinds of quests players can experience in, potentially, one of2024’s most exciting shooters.
What Is The Story And Lore Of Gray Zone Warfare?
While there were several inspirations, including the Strugatsky brothers' novelRoadside Picnic,Gray Zone Warfare’s title can give some insight into the narrative context surrounding its setting of Lamang Island, with Rabas describing it as “a word for new types of hybrid combat” and an area “between peace and war, but it’s definitely not peaceful.” Rabas added that Lamang Island isruled by a dictator, is populated by bad groups like criminals, and is a country where the rich can hire Private Military Companies (PMCs). Of course, this is where the player steps in. As Rabas elaborated,
The players are the employees of these companies. They’re like Ex-Seal or Ex-Special Operation Forces. They’re hired basically for security, and the company is not telling you the truth of why they are there…
This also alludes toGray Zone Warfare’s mysterious quarantine event, adding more conflict to the plot’s landscape, as political leaders argue about what to do and others send in PMCs. While Rabas understandably didn’t want to spoil the exact nature of this event “that nobody really understands,” Marek added, “the premise is that bad things are happening because of unknown elements.” As agame inspired by a book, it’s possible to speculate what this mystery could be, but it’s also clear the developers want players to discover its secrets for themselves. One thing is also clear - it’s not a game about one person saving the world, as Rabas explained,
We won’t have a Macho action story because, when we are getting older, we don’t trust games where you are always saving the world…We won’t have a heroic story. We want to have a more realistic story; we want to have more realistic combat.
Quest Types And Quest Design In Gray Zone Warfare
When asked about what quests players can expect, Rabas described them as varied and non-linear, enabling players to choose how to approach them. They are also a key way players can experience thegame’s focus on realism,
…the player has the agency to fulfill the quest as they want, through shooting, through stealth, or they can get stuff somewhere else or get it from somebody else, for example. There is a huge variety. We have quest lines that are for the PMC faction, but then there are a lot of side quests for the other NPCs.
Some side quests also connect to intel gathering, and others could potentially relate to other characters in the story, like a female mechanic whose father mysteriously disappears. While atactical shooter game, it seems there is much more than meets the eye when it comes toGray Zone Warfare’s story, lore, and quests, potentially giving players much to get excited about.
Gray Zone Warfareis currently in development and is due for release in 2024.
