Polyarc, the team that created both Moss games is back with a completely different game. I played the free-to-play Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss during Gamescom and was impressed by the gameplay. Wondering what it’s all about? Time to jump in!
1v1 real-time battler
Unlike Moss, Glassbreakers is a 1v1 real-time battler where you handpick your three champions before the start of the match. The champions all fit the Moss universe perfectly and come with their own strengths and weaknesses. You have tank characters, long-ranged characters, magic characters, and more. Picking the three champions is the first layer of strategy because you really need to learn the strengths and weaknesses of every hero before you jump into the battle. While you’re picking your champion, you can also alter the color of your banners and even your mask. Just like the other Moss games, you are part of the world as a player. In Glassbreakers, you’re the one sending the champions into combat by literally picking them up and showing where they need to go. See it as a Harry Potter chess set in the Moss universe, which works surprisingly well. I love the amount of customization options you get at the start of the battle, really giving you time to come up with a strategy while looking your best on the field.
Once on the field, you’ll see a hex-based grid where you can move your champions around. The goal of the game is to break your opponent’s glass before the time runs out, matches are kept short to not force you to stay in VR for too long. By breaking the glass, you win the match but there’s a lot more strategy to it than just that.
A deep layer of strategy
What I like most about Glassbreakers is the fact that you not only see your opponent’s champions, you also see your opponent’s mask and hands which brings a deep and unexpected layer of strategy during combat. Since you’re seeing where your opponent is and what he’s playing to do, you can counter the attack more easily. At least that’s what you think would happen, you can also fake certain moves with your hands to sneakily send your champions in another direction. Anticipating what your opponent will do is crucial for victory and works extremely well thanks to this unique mechanism. Besides anticipating your opponent’s moves there are some things that will benefit you during combat. You can for example stand on power-ups for a certain amount of time to buff your attack or defense or you can break one of the two smaller glasses to make the main glass as vulnerable as possible. There’s more than meets the eye in Glassbreakers but thanks to the high level of intuitive controls, you’ll be controller your champions naturally after a couple of minutes. It’s really nicely created and showcases why this genre works pretty well in VR.
Early conclusion:
Glassbreakers is an innovative strategic VR game that really nails the gameplay. It’s playable in early access on Meta App Lab right now so if you have the chance, be sure to check it out, you won’t be disappointed!
