The upcoming co-op horde mode shooter Hellbreach: Vegas (opens in new tab) just had its first public demo with a physical presence at this year's PAX East, experience a small taste of the full game, which will be released later this year.

In November, I had the opportunity to experience a pre-alpha demo of Hellbreach (opens in new tab) and speak with Ashley Ellis, the sole developer of Hellbreach, a "throwback" to Call of Duty's popular Zombies mode. An adaptation, it really clicked with me; Hellbreach, like CoD, has a slow player movement speed, coupled with cluttered and dense levels that slowly fold open as the match progresses. It feels like a throwback to the core Xbox 360 game in the same way that the recent Boomer Shooter Renaissance is a deliberate homage to the feel of the 90s, and to be honest, a little more of the late 20s and early 10s iron sight sights, breach and clear bad boys. It's time for some love.

Hellbreech's take on zombies is about to be transformed into a more complete package that supports claustrophobic, arcade-like shooting, but with enough progression and structure to not overshadow its core. I'm particularly excited about the possibility of another mode being added in addition to the classic survival setup included in the demo, although Hellbreach's latest trailer has a short shot featuring the "xx kills to next gun / xx guns left" UI element, This alludes to a version of CoD and Counter-Strike's legendary "Gun Game" mode. The full list of demo content follows:

I have enjoyed my time with Hellbreach, but have yet to play this game the way it should be played. While I haven't had the opportunity to do so in this demo, Iceberg's rep has indicated that a multiplayer demo is in the works; you can check out Hellbreach's alpha demo or try out the game on Steam (opens in a new tab).