Summary
- The Day Before developer Fntastic is attempting a comeback with a new game called Escape Factory.
- The Day Before was heavily criticized for technical glitches and false marketing claims, leading to server shutdown.
- Fntastic promises to fund Escape Factory's development via Kickstarter, with refunds if the target isn't met.
Fntastic, the now notorious developer behind controversial shooter The Day Before, is trying to make a comeback less than a year after that game’s servers were shut down amid ridicule and outrage. Originally announced in 2021, The Day Before was marketed as a survival MMO in a zombie-infested post-apocalyptic world and seemed very promising. But from its very first trailer, eyebrows were raised as gamers called out Fntastic for copying a plethora of other titles, including Red Dead Redemption 2, The Last of Us, and The Division.
Despite this, it seems that many people were willing to give The Day Before a chance, if it kept its promises and lived up to expectations, which after the trailers were admittedly not particularly high. However, when it launched in December 2023, players were presented with technical glitches and a game that was not in fact an MMO. The community’s mood turned from amused to almost hostile when a Day Before developer said that the game had never been an MMO and blamed the mismarketing on publisher Mytona.
There's Still 1 Person Playing The Day Before on Steam
One of the most widely panned games in recent memory, The Day Before, somehow still has a single active user running the game on Steam.
A little over a month after launch, The Day Before’s servers were shut down and refunds handed out to everybody who’d purchased the game, no matter their play time. Despite rumors that it was now defunct, developer Fntastic has apparently been working on another project and released a trailer for a new game called Escape Factory on September 27. Simultaneously, the company posted on social media, acknowledging that “regaining trust will be tough.” Escape Factory’s development will be funded via a Kickstarter campaign, and Fntastic promises that all contributions will be refunded if the crowdfunding target isn’t reached. Furthermore, the developer clarified that “all funds will go to development, not profit.”
This last sentence is particularly noteworthy because Fntastic was of course accused of using The Day Before as a money grab meant to fill its coffers before pulling the plug and disappearing. However, buyers were refunded and it’s unclear how much, or how little, cash the company may have actually ended up with. Understandably, comments on the Escape Factory trailer and replies to the Twitter post are overwhelmingly negative. It’s dubious how many people will choose to participate in the company’s new initiative, which according to its official website, is to “build Fntastic 2.0 together.”
Developer Fntastic Asks for a Second Chance
The trailer is not accompanied by a summary of Escape Factory’s premise, as the description box was only used to apologize for The Day Before, promise to fix past mistakes, and provide links to the company’s plans to redeem itself. “Everybody deserves a second chance,” says Fntastic. That will be up to the gaming community to decide. From the one-minute trailer, however, Escape Factory, a physics-based co-op experience for 4-8 players, does look somewhat fun. There’s currently a demo available for download on Steam.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 12 /100
- Released
- December 7, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Fntastic
- Publisher(s)
- MYTONA
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Zombie
- OpenCritic Rating
- Weak
