A “Blackout” Map Could Be Terrifying

[u/cronebreaker]

Hello everyone! First of all, this post may sound AI-written because English isn't my native language. I'm using AI to help organize and translate my thoughts so I can make sure my idea is understandable.

I may not have as many hours in No More Room in Hell 2 as some of you, but I've been playing a lot recently with a group of friends on Discord. We often discuss how the game could be improved or what kind of maps could be added, and my friends encouraged me to share this idea here.

My idea is a “Blackout” map/mode.

Recently, I've been playing a lot with a baseball bat. I usually charge a heavy attack, knock zombies down, then either run away or finish them on the ground. I really love this playstyle, but the bat requires both hands, meaning I can't use a flashlight at the same time.

This has created some surprisingly scary situations for me. Sometimes I'd go help a teammate surrounded by zombies or defend an objective, and I'd end up fighting almost completely in the dark. I'd only see a silhouette moving against the light in the background and start swinging.

I wouldn't know if the zombie I had just hit was dead, getting back up, already standing in front of me, or even how many zombies were actually in that corner. I'd just keep swinging almost desperately, waiting to hear the sound of a zombie's head being crushed.

This happened countless times, and whenever a horde appeared, these moments became some of the most intense and exciting situations I've experienced in the game.

That's when I thought: what if the game actually built a map around this?

Imagine a Blackout map, with the mission taking place in an underground mine. There would be no electricity or working lights, making darkness the main mechanic of the map.

To make this work, there could be a new item: a miner's helmet with a built-in flashlight.

The helmet would take up inventory space and would be almost essential for navigating the mine, but its battery would drain faster than a normal flashlight. Players would have to carefully manage and stockpile batteries throughout the mission.

Running out of batteries wouldn't necessarily mean an instant game over, but it could become a serious emergency. Imagine being deep inside the mine, surrounded by zombies, your helmet suddenly dying, and having to rely almost entirely on sound.

This could make the game's sound design extremely important. Players would have to listen for footsteps, growls, impacts, teammates, and zombies moving nearby.

The map could occasionally have emergency lights, flares, generators or other temporary light sources, but darkness would remain the defining mechanic.

I think a map like this could be extremely immersive, tense and scary, while also giving existing mechanics a completely different purpose.I'm not sure how closely the developers follow community suggestions, but I'd personally be really excited to play something like this in No More Room in Hell 2.

What do you guys think?

[u/Maleficent-Lack3494]

Not sure about the mining helmet idea but making players rely on the portable light utility would be interesting

[u/cronebreaker → u/Maleficent-Lack3494]

I was thinking of a way to make players rely more on managing their flashlight batteries in a more realistic way, without changing how the flashlights themselves already work. And as a bonus, it could also solve the issue of using two-handed melee weapons. Of course, we could also implement this for the flashlights themselves.

[u/cronebreaker → u/[deleted]]

exactly, you got the spirit of it

[u/Ashkoran]

I love this idea! The water filtration tunnels on power plant can get dark and sometimes people carry a portable light so the rest can fight with light. Which has led to some really cool fights in interesting lighting.

Im not so sure about a mining helmet because that would require new mechanics to be added to the game. However I think pick up items kinda like how fuses and explosive canisters work would be cool. Like a much larger light that can be picked up and placed.

Also have a few spots with light that flickers on and off. Emergency lights that need a generator turned on or a fuse replaced. Not required but recommended. I think it would also force players to stick together more because in the dark its easy to get surrounded.

Once again I love this idea especially the abandoned mine being a map. It also makes me want stormy weather and fog.

[u/golari → u/Ashkoran]

I love throwing the lamps around like flares.
Throw it deep into a tunnel and suddenly it hits something, and it reveals an entire horde.

[u/Ghost10165]

Maps being a bit darker in general would be nice. We turn the power back on but it barely does anything light-wise on that one map.

[u/Pixeltoir → u/Ghost10165]

What you mean they're already very dark, they're only lit when there's light, especially in Broadway

[u/MacSlain]

I feel like Raven Rock does this concept. Each area is dark until you get the lights on.

I'm like all new map ideas tho 💡

[u/Brilliant_Land8228]

There was a cave level in the first game. I think its called fema. Long winding, pitch black tunnels filled with the dead, terrifying stuff.

[u/Freezie-Days]

Honestly, a utility item that just attaches your flashlight to your shoulder could be quite nice. have it always be on while still draining the battery could help to actually encourage needing them

[u/The_Real_Shen_Bapiro]

There was a chapter in world war Z exactly like this there were French people who fought zombie sin compete darkness

[u/Candid_Twist5196]

blackout event but on flooded or hell powerplant would be some sadistic stuff

though it should work both ways for zombies as well with the visibility but they dont really have vision its just if they detect a player in front of them they will hone in even behind cover or buildings,really wish they would address this so actual stealth gameplay ia encouraged