Among many stale and generic battle royale titles, developer Proletariat dares to be different by introducing magical and fantasy elements into the mix with Spellbreak, the latest free to play battle royale. Set in a unique fantasy world left in ruins, you are a Breaker, a Battlemage and outcast that comes to the Hollow Lands for the sole purpose of acquiring loot and power.
Not Your Ordinary Battle Royale
The game includes unique, crisp cel-shaded visuals and cartoony character designs. The environmental design is also surprisingly bright and lush for a world left in ruins. Gameplay-wise, the game still includes your standard battle royale elements. You and 41 other wizards drop down in a frequently enclosing map and will have to fight it out to earn the victory alone or in a group of two or three. Much like other battle royales, the formula remains mostly the same. Players can dive down kill enemies, pick up items and armor of varying rarity, as well as loot chests, and castle grounds.
Spellbreak’s uniqueness begins with the spells themselves, and other forms of combat. Players can use a variety of elements to fight including Fire, Ice, lightning, and wind. Combing these elements can prove very effective in battle. For example, you can shoot lightning into a gust of wind to deal significant damage or shoot a toxic mist from one gauntlet and pair it with a firebolt from another to deal explosive damage.
Players can also use secondary advanced moves for each element all of which come with a cool down such as a firewall to affect multiple enemies at a time, or a thunderstorm to deal damage to a single player over time. Players can improve and level up their skills for their preferred element class by constantly playing as them. Other than that, players can also customize their characters by buying outfits, titles, and more in the shop with the use of gold earned in matches.
It Takes Skill & Luck
Because of the nature of the game, it’s easy to instantly destroy an opponent if you know what you’re doing. However, the same can be done to you if you aren’t paying attention and with a standard round of just 42 players, it’s also easy to earn a victory or gain a terrible defeat Based on luck alone. The game might seem unbalanced at times but isn’t. As long as you know how each element works and how to avoid them, victory can easily be earned.
Other than elements, players also have access to runes which grants access to moves like invisibility, thermo-location, flight, and teleportation. These abilities still come with a cool down which somewhat renders some of them useless. For example, you can only fly for about 3 seconds before having to cool down which isn’t very effective in the midst of combat. Thankfully, these runes can easily be swapped out to fit whatever play style or scenario.
Just like in other battle royales, teamwork is also a key part of victory. If you have a good teammate on your side, each enemy encounter will provide little to no challenge. At launch, I was only able to play the duos mode (that has changed at this time with the introduction of solo and squad) I had a good teammate and my first match was a breeze, as were able to easily earn the victory, which was quite surprising. Of course, this will play out very differently when fighting against more experienced players. Sometimes it can be an easy victory, other times, it can be a grueling defeat with some opponents taking several minutes just to kill.
Final thoughts
Overall, Spellbreak is a visually pleasing and mechanically sound game. Its combat is highly detailed and engaging. It is also both fun to play and watch especially at pro level. The game has been in closed beta for quite some time now, and I’m glad it’s been able to evolve a lot since then. While Spellbreak doesn’t have enough recognition at the moment, it is certainly a game that deserves it.
Spellbreak is free to play right now on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via the Epic games store. Players can also get a variety of cosmetic items by purchasing a founders pack.
This review is based on a copy of the game provided by the publisher
Have you played Spellbreak yet? What’s your favorite battle royale? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
