Behaviour Interactive’s Deathgarden might sound like a 1980’s heavy metal album that was mistakenly withheld from release until 2018, but in reality it’s actually another entry in the company’s asymmetrical PvP multiplayer games. Unlike Dead by Daylight, though, Deathgarden is designed like a cross between Running Man and the 1994 Rutger Hauer flick, Surviving The Game. The company recently announced that closed beta testing has begun, and that Early Access will get underway this August.

The object is that there’s a player who takes on the role of a hunter, and several other players who take on the roles of the hunted, also known as “runners”. The objective of the runner is to escape from the death garden, while the objective of the hunter is to hunt down and kill the runners by any means necessary.

If you still can’t quite get a handle on how the game is played, there’s a video narrated by design director Matt Jackson who explains the mechanics and the roles of each player.

To mix up the gameplay, weather conditions and the garden changes every time you play thanks to procedurally implemented modifiers. This means that there’s no way to memorize the maps and no way to game the system.

Additionally, all five runners must complete specific objectives, and at least three runners need to be alive in order to access the exit once they do complete the objectives.

The hunter, meanwhile, needs to kill the runners before they exit the garden. Runners can’t kill the hunter but they do have a few weapons and traps they can use to slowdown and partially incapacitate the hunter.

It’s kind of neat because runners play the game in third-person, using parkour to dodge and run in order to avoid being killed.

The hunter and the runners can upgrade their abilities and customize their skillsets, effectively being able to create class-types.

The developers also announced that Deathgarden has been updated for the newest closed beta test, featuring a new weather mode, improved party mechanics, three new runner powers, two new runner perks, a new weapon for the hunter, a new power for the hunter, and two new hunter perks.

You can learn more about Deathgarden and the closed beta test, which will run from June 19th to June 26th, by visiting the official website.