Before I start, I want to tell anyone reading this: DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. The playerbase is almost completely gone, with anywhere from 0-2 players online at most times.

You might be asking, "why are you leaving a positive review while telling me not to buy the game?" Well, buckle up and I will tell you about the best few months I've ever had in gaming, playing the most peak game of all time; Level Zero: Extraction. Without further ado, here it my ode to LZ:E, in memory of the worlds most masterfully crafted game of all time.

From the day I saw LZ:E pop up on my steam discovery queue, I knew it was going to be different. An extraction shooter (my favorite genre, arguably the best genre), but with horror mechanics and player controlled aliens? Just take my money! Well, on August 13th, early access release day, I did indeed give them my money. $40, ultimate edition, giving me extra gear to start with and a cool skin to rock. I hopped in a game, and the atmosphere gave me a feeling I hadn't felt in gaming in at least 6-7 years; true immersion. I crouched around, opening containers in the dark, terrified of every little sound. This was the game of my dreams, an extraction shooter where every move mattered, every sound was a clue, and there was always a threat looming. Playing as a merc, I got less scared, and was able to finally go out and PVP with my friend. The gunplay was just beautiful, I loved how the guns felt to use. Looting was exciting and there were so many different things to loot. You could barter items to get guns or attachments or grenades, and it really felt like you were achieving something. You had to call an elevator, and wait 2 minutes for it to arrive as it told the entire map where you were. As an alien, you had lots of abilities to help kill the mercs, and they had lots of counters to you as well. The threat of light killing you made strategy not only necessary, but fun. It was beautiful, it was complicated, yet simple, and most importantly, it was the most fun and addicting game to have ever existed. Only those who played during it's prime can understand just how great this game was.

But, on January 19, 2025, everything changed. The lighting system we had all grown to love, was completely stripped away and replaced with a mediocre "uv light" system to replace it. At this point, the game had already lost a lot of it's playerbase, due to lack of advertising and poor decisions by devs, especially involving constant flip-flopping balance changes. This lighting change was a last-ditch attempt to refresh the players with new content, but it killed off the thing we loved most about the game, and truly but the final nail in the coffin. The game swiftly dropped in player count, until it was decimated. A true masterpiece, washed away with little to no mark in the gaming industry, and for what? I don't think tinyBuild would ever bring this game back, but if they did... I promise you it would be the greatest revival of all time, and this piece of art would truly shine, as it should've from the beginning.

We never wanted it to end this way, Level Zero. We miss you dearly, and you're constantly on our minds. You deserved so much better than what you were given, but now it's too late. You were the best there was, and we took you for granted. Rest in peace, my child.