Last year at Gamescom, there was only one game that stood out for me and that was Battleborn. A cartoony MOBA/ first person shooter that seemed like they’ve had it all covered. A team based shooter with lots of funny jokes and a variety of characters with their own set of abilities and weaponry. The game industry is all about first person shooters these days, so every other game has to be convincing and exciting to play. Will Battleborn stand out from the crowd like “Guardians of the Galaxy” or will it fail and fade away like the star they’re trying to defend? 

Battleborn is a group of heroes/anti-heroes fighting alongside each other and in worse case battle against each other. You might wonder why they’re all blasting away like their lives depend on it and a matter of fact, it does in a certain kind of way. They live in a world where there’s only one star left in the galaxy, one power source that decides over life and death, of course, it wouldn’t be an adventure if there wasn’t an evil common enemy that wants everything or nothing at all. All surviving factions want to get their hands on this last star and all with different purposes: profit, science, control, justice or just having fun. Which faction will you swear loyal to?

There’s a lot of choices…

Five different factions mean a lot of heroes with their own kind of fighting style and characteristics such as melee fighters, healers, tanks and scouts. A lot of characters have their own sense of humor and attitude that were very amusing… in the beginning, but in the end, some of the characters just became annoying because their jokes or attitude performances weren’t always “on the spot!” Don’t get me wrong, I know what the developers were going for… the same weird characters like the Borderlands series that were often messed up and crazy in the head. Some of the characters have a smudge of the same ” humor” as in Borderlands, but I have a feeling that Battleborn will attract other younger players.

The campaign includes 8 missions that can be played solo but I recommend playing it with a couple of friends. Some players might not have a lot of friends who game and maybe feel like they’re left out of the experience, don’t you worry my friend! The game offers a decent matchmaking system to hook you up with different Battleborn. The game’s missions can be finished under an hour but the more decent your friends play, the better the result. The game can be repetitive if you don’t play it with friends. This is truly a game to play with friends to make it more interesting, other hardcore players will easily lose their interests. The campaign offers a certain learning curve, you’ll get to play with different heroes to be familiarized with the controls and their abilities. You’ll quickly notice that a certain specific hero will grow onto you and then it’s just harder to let go and try another one, which can be a good thing. While you’re playing, you’ll earn experience to level up, collect gear for your gearbox and unlock new characters.

“The game’s not perfect but it does have potential!”

The challenge that’s hidden within this game is just like the MOBA game  “League of Legends”. You’ll have to learn how to play a certain character, experiment with other builds with the easy-to-use helix skill system and try to find the best combos for your playstyle. The helix system truly offers an easy way to experience, once you level up, you’ll have to choose between two different skills and this makes up for an interesting feature: playing the same but different hero.

Live, shoot, die and repeat!

The game’s goal is simple: gather a team full of high skilled warriors, at least that “skill” is something you’d expect, and go through all these different objectives with killing a horde of enemies. The main game might not be “MOBA” focused but it’s still a team based shooter. Just running and gunning without the support of your friends, will probably get you killed and if your friends don’t reach you in time to revive you, you’ll relive with a fewer chance of survival. Unlike the “Return of the Jedi”, your “returns” are limited! There’s a way to play it solo, but you’ll quickly notice that the game is actually made for co-op gaming. A lot of objectives are about ” keeping an area safe” or ” defend an area” and the game doesn’t make it simple, it’s not about one area at the time, it’s different areas at the same time that has to be defended from different waves of enemies. The main story of the game isn’t really something that will be remembered for a long time among gamers, but the story comes with a universe filled with unique heroes that might still be something to talk about in the near future. The game’s not perfect but it does have potential!

Welcome to the “grind” !

The game gives you a pleasant way of earning experience while playing. Whether you’re playing the campaign or multiplayer, experience will be gained and gear will be looted such as lootpacks with different skins and heroes. It’s kind of like a Trading Card Game. You work your ass off to get some money, you buy some card packs and hopefully, it will give you something extraordinary or useful. Getting those packs and opening those packs with the thrill of getting something “legendary”, this is the type of feeling you’ll also get with Battleborn. You’ll do your best to become the greatest Battleborn anyone has seen and hopefully, you’ll be rewarded with some fine ass loot! Of course some of the rewards kind of feels like it’s not a big of a deal. A lot of gear doesn’t give you “extraordinary” stats, so it may feel like “useless” gear. Of course, this is for the protection of the meta game but people don’t want to grind for a “useless” item.

A game truly build for multiplayer!

The game has different multiplayer modes: Capture, Meltdown and Incursion. Capture is your domination mode where two teams try to hold 3 different Capture points as long as possible with the help of buildables, to win the game. Incursion is a MOBA type of game mode where both teams have sentries that must be destroyed in order for your team to win the game. Of course, it’s not the same type of MOBA you’d expect from League of Legends. In this mode you only have one lane, as in “League of Legends” you always have 3 lanes. To give you a helping hand, there are opportunities to build turrets alongside the lane to give you that bit of extra damage. If this damage is enough, you can always try to convince the Thralls to join your group and let them eliminate those enemies for you.

The game’s modes have a lot of potential and would attract a lot more players if the game was built a lot more like a MOBA. Think about all these strategic opportunities Gearbox could have created with this team of different and unique Battleborns. Incursion could be a lot more tactical if it also had 3 lanes instead of one lane… Harassment in the jungle or picking up power ups that eventually end up in a team massacre could lift the game to higher and more professional spheres. I think they’ve missed out a bit on these multiplayer modes.Don’t get me wrong, I loved playing these multiplayer modes but what if… it could be more like MOBA. It would be an awesome competitor of SMITE. Maybe we’ll find something like this in Battleborn 2 or in future patches?

“The game can be repetitive if you don’t play it with friends.”

Meltdown and Incursion have a lot of potential in becoming 2 favorite type of game modes in future first person shooters. They both have a strategic and tactical layer… you have to defend by building turrets that use up shards scattered across the map but at the same time, there’s another way to have the winning gods at your side, get the Thralls to help you while attacking/defending minions. A lot of potential I tell you, but for the moment, true talent is still hidden. A lot of players still play the game as your typical first person shooter. Those 2 different and unique modes are still being played as the boring type “Team Deathmatch” and that’s a pity. Who knows maybe, players still need to grow their inner Battleborn before they can unleash these beasts in the way that they’re meant to be. The power is there, the developers just need to use it!

Conclusion: