A world filled with squishy little creatures that are throwing each other from platforms or play a game of soccer during their spare time. That’s what Deformers is. Ready at Dawn’s newest game and attempt to create a new competitive multiplayer game including two modes. The developer is known for its great ideas but often lacks those important details to really make a difference. Is Deformers worth getting or should it fall down from a cliff as fast as possible? Time to find out!
Ready at Dawn
Before I go into the details of the game, I would like to point out that Ready at Dawn created this. Why does that matter? Well, Deformers isn’t an Indie game, unlike the looks might suggest, it’s developed by the same team that brought us “The Order: 1886” and worked on PSP games like God of War and Daxter. The studio has a lot of talent and knows how to create fun games. Deformers isn’t a PlayStation exclusive but is available on Xbox One and PC as well. So what is this all about?
Ready at Dawn isn’t afraid to think outside of the box and often creates worlds that we haven’t seen before. Deformers most be their most unique concept to date. In Deformers, you control squishy little creatures that are trying to push each other off the cliff in Deathmatch or play soccer in the Rocket League-like Form Ball mode. You control a creature called a Form.
The idea is that you roll your way through the arena as a Form. As the name already suggests, you can shift your form by pushing certain buttons. If you just use the control stick, you’ll always resemble a ball but with a push of the right button, you’ll transform into a puddle of goo, enabling you to grab objects or opponents. This is a great way to carry your opponents to the edge of the arena in Deathmatch mode. The other button changes you into a cube, making it impossible for your opponents to push you around. Pushing happens when you hold the trigger to charge, release it for an impressive ram attack. The last thing a Form is capable of, is shooting little blobs called Tribs. Once you pick them up, you can shoot them like a machine gun to inflict damage to your opponents. As you can see, these cute Forms are up to no good but what do they actually do?
Deathmatch
The first mode is a Deathmatch mode where you can battle with up to eight players where you’re fighting for the most points. Deathmatch also supports a Team Deathmatch mode where the teams get divided and have to take each other out. In Deathmatch, you’ll be using your ram ability most of the time. The goal is to inflict enough damage to your opponent to make them explode or to ram them off the arena. It does remind me of games like Super Smash Bros. but it lacks the depth or damage meter to give you an indication on who’s winning. Instead, you’ll only see the damage based on the amount of band-aid that’s attached to the cute creature.
To make things a little more interesting you can collect mutators by destroying crates. These mutators can give you some health or ammo boosts but the most fun ones are those that change the game a little more. Some of these mutators, called Disasters, enable you to tilt the map, take away gravity or spawn a giant ball of goo to destroy everything in its path. Besides the Disasters, you can also pick up some power-ups to throw bombs, become invisible or attract items as a magnet. During my online sessions, I noticed players using these power-ups and Disasters mostly to gain the best score as fast as possible. You can compare them with the power weapons found in multiple other multiplayer games. Deathmatch offers some fun but it’s not deep enough to really keep you motivated, the second mode is perhaps the better one here.
Form Ball
The second playable mode is called Form Ball and is basically Rocket League set in the land of cute squishy creatures. In this mode, the arena transforms to a soccer stadium with two goals on each end. Players are divided into two teams and have to find a way to knock a giant ball into the opponent’s goal. This mode is played without power-ups or Disasters so players really have to use their skills in order to win. Sounds a lot like Rocket League, right? Well, Deformers does manage to put its own face to the mode.
Thanks to the ability to grab, for example, you can easily carry the ball to the goal without being stopped. To counter this action, remember to use your ‘square’ power to transform yourself into a massive block, blocking the goal. Thanks to these abilities, Form Ball really has some depth to it and I’m sure a lot of gamers will play this one for a couple of hours. The only major downside here is the lack of content, especially when you compare it with the impressive amount of content Rocket Leauge currently has to offer.
The power of the Forms
The most fun part of Deformers is without a doubt the ability to customize your little creature with tons of options. First of all, there are tons of different skins to unlock, featuring some well-known creatures or more obscure ones like a pile of pancakes. By playing the modes, you’ll gain points which you can use to unlock new Forms. Besides new Forms, you can also customize your favorite ones with an amazing amount of accessories. I’m sure a lot of gamers will be entertained with this customization for sure!
To make the game a little deeper, Forms also come in classes. Five different classes are available and all have their strengths and weaknesses. If you want to go for a traditional, all-round character, you’ll need to use the Ranger. The Marksman class focusses on shooting with precision, the Guardian is your tank, the Speedster is fast and agile and the Striker class inflicts the most damage. There’s no tutorial in the game or whatsoever, so you’ll need to experiment with the different classes to see what fits your style most.
Conclusion
Deformers certainly isn’t a bad game but it lacks something to really stand out. Both Smash Bros. and Rocket League have more to offer and yet Deformers still is worth checking out. Due to the cute looks and great physics, there’s certainly something fun about this game. It’s not the best on the market but it’s one of those typical games you’ll be playing from time to time. Collecting the different creatures is the most appealing thing about it but never underestimate the level of cuteness of those creatures!