Spellbreak: Live or Die?

In the year 2020, Interesting takes on the battle royale genre are far and few between. From the meteoric rise of Player Unknowns' Battlegrounds (PUBG) to the monopolizing sensation of Fortnite, many gamers are either hungry for something different or done with battle royale all together. Facing the global pandemic of Covid-19, we have seen the Video games industry thrive with an influx of people trying to escape their lockdown boredom.

Enter fantasy themed Spellbreak, Proletariat studios' fresh take on the genre that has yet to realize its full potential. Similar to most other battle royale games, Spellbreak starts with a lobby of 42 players. Players can cue three different modes (trio, duo, and solo) with the aim remaining the same, be the last wizard alive by taking out your opposition with tactical decision making and third-person shooter like abilities. Six different 'gauntlets' deliver the mechanics of Spellbreak,' each gauntlet representing an elemental essence. The looting is similar to Fortnite as the 42 mages fan out at the beginning of the game to find gear of varying quality in preparation for the epic encounters that ensue. Team fights are explosively dynamic, with a mixture of abilities that create all-out chaos as you fight for the victory.

What makes Spellbreak Gameplay Different?

Before entering the 'Hollow Lands, ' players have a choice between six different primary gauntlets. Each gauntlet has a signature 'spammable' attack and a respective lager 'sorcery' attack that goes on cooldown after use. Spammable attacks use the players' mana reserve, which is governed by the rarity of the necklace worn. The players' mana pool is also used when 'hovering,' allowing for excellent mobility as they dodge and avoid attacks.

Choosing your primary gauntlet tactfully is paramount as each affords a different playstyle with respective perks that are leveled up the longer you survive. When picked as primary, the stone gauntlet gives the player 20 more max 'shield' than other wizards of a different class. This perk also allows you to regenerate a portion of your shield with each spammable attack. The stone gauntlets attack sends a long trail of ruptured earth along the ground, damaging anyone standing in its wake. These perks make the stone gauntlet incredibly influential during the early game and is a favorite for wizards that like to 'drop hot' and get straight into the action.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have the frost gauntlet. While weaker in the early game against other classes due to its 'sniper-like' gameplay, with perks such as 'ice prism,' the ice lance does an extra 35% damage to an opponent during the late game. When the ice lance is coupled with legendary upgrades, it can be devastating during the heat of the end game battle. The frost gauntlet is excellent at countering high mobility runes such as 'featherfall' and 'flight,' allowing you to snipe your low health opponents before they can escape.

The most exciting choice you can make once you are in the game and collecting loot is which of the five other gauntlets to use as your secondary. You are only limited to what you can find, opening the door to a remarkably diverse skill set that you and your opponents can employ. The main difference between both gauntlets is the associated perks are only activated with your primary class.

Synergies are a big deal!

Often overlooked by new players is the array of elemental synergies that work together to create adverse effects. Shooting a fireball from the fire gauntlet into the wind gauntlets tornado can create a 'fire tornado' that does extra damage to anyone caught inside. Using the stone gauntlet to smash through a frost mages ice trail can leave them frozen, leaving them open to an easy attack. These countless synergies truly make Spellbreak a different breed when it comes to dynamic fights, think Arrowhead game studio's 'Magicka' crossed with a 3rd person battle royale.

The movement is fantastically fluid

Each player can also use one 'runic' ability on cooldown. Each runic power can be found in the Hollow Lands and are mutually exclusive to all classes. Some of the best feelings come from using the 'flight rune,' which sends you catapulting through the sky like superman, helping you aggressively push fights or, in turn, desperately escape an enemy pursuit attempt. Or if you would prefer a more stealthy and tactical approach, you could opt for the 'invisibility rune,' which allows you to remain undetected for a short time. Just hope no one else is running the 'wolfs blood' rune, a direct counter to invisibility that reveals all nearby players through walls and terrain within 100m!

Runes make the movement and gameplay that much more exciting and enhance the feeling of playing a sorcerer type character.

Some things could improve...

There are always things game developers can do to optimize the quality of their games, and as Proletariat is a small-scale studio, I am sure they have plans in action. It already takes considerable work to produce what they have, and Spellbreak fans should be aware of this and not expect the same attention to detail as a more massive gaming development team could provide.

A few things we would like to see in future updates

The belt armor system can be majorly improved. Something like respawns apex legends' armor swap' system would work wonders here. I often find myself picking up a depleted belt and using my reserve healing to refill the armor bar. I do not even have the option to switch back to the belt I had previously, leaving me with less total hp, which does not make sense when upgrading. Being able to upgrade and downgrade belts and getting full armor would be preferable as you can't carry much healing in this game.

The map interface feels and looks a little clunky. It could have a bit more effort in its design, especially with how the players pick their drop location. It seems like a random assortment of different colored circles and lacks some appeal.

The biggest thing Spellbreak could improve to enhance their following and retain players is with lore! Give the characters some personality! We need to know why we are fighting in the Hollow Lands. How did the gauntlet technology come into existence? Games like Overwatch and Fortnite employ a similar cartoon art style, and it does appeal to a broad audience; however, they also have voice lines and hundreds of emotes that bring their games to life. Simple cut and dry gesture emotes are not going to work anymore.

Will it Thrive or Die out?

As an oceanic player, I've already seen the steady decline of lobby numbers, a recurring theme with our servers for games that don't gain much attraction. It's not a great feeling for a competitive player when all of a sudden, you're playing against bots who stand in place and don't put up a fight at all. It makes your wins feel tainted and undeserving. The AI is quite underwhelming, yet I can imagine the amount of work it would take in this particular game to improve it, so hopefully, more players find this game and give it a red hot crack!

Spellbreak is available across all major platforms, including Nintendo Switch! It also supports Cross progression, so if you play on multiple platforms, your progress carries over! This feature is quite unprecedented and highly appreciated.

If history is anything to go by the next few major updates for this game will be incredibly crucial in deciding whether Spellbreak Lives or dies.

As an alpha tester and a fan since the beginning I hope Spellbreak finds the audience it deserves.