So far, esports has not taken off in virtual reality. Can Brazen Blade change that?
That's exactly what MyDearest hopes to achieve with their Overwatch meets Super Landlord 3D "smash and shoot" character fighting game. The game emphasizes rapid fly-by and fast-paced traversal on a highly compact and destructible map.
It's a major shift for a team that usually focuses on single-player, story-driven adventure games, but one that the team is confident about. Despite entering multiplayer action, the team hasn't abandoned its line of world-building and storytelling, crafting backstories for each character, the anarcho-capitalist global and the upcoming "The Same," even hiring Castlevania ” Netflix series creator Warren Ellis serves as creative consultant. In this alternative future, a global competition brings people together to determine who will be president of the world.
However, the focus is of course on the frantic and fun multiplayer action that's easy to learn but hard to master.
We were invited to the MyDearest offices in Tokyo and had the chance to play the game early to familiarize ourselves with its planned closed alpha test this month, which first showed us the game's complex yet intuitive control scheme. In combat, movement is key to victory, which requires mastery of the verticality and variety of each stage layout to gain an advantage over your opponents. The player moves around the environment primarily by dashing vertically and horizontally using the left and right triggers.
Pointing in a direction and using dash will cause your character to shoot forward, which is perfect for both offensive and defensive maneuvers. You can dash towards enemies, hit them, then dodge and shoot further or find cover. Firing requires grabbing the secondary weapon from your waist using the grip button, and for easier aiming, you can also lock on to the target with a click of the right thumbstick.
Aside from some variations based on character abilities (more on that in a moment), each character's basic attack is a punch, using the hold button to form a fist and reaching forward to hit anything in front of you.
This can be used against enemies, but can also be used to damage buildings and vehicles (entire environments are destructible). The map we played was set in an abandoned city now used as a playing field, with lots of cover, verticality, and destructible items. Why not blow up an oil tanker for extra damage, or take down that tall building so long-range shooters can't fight back?
In this early alpha version, the three characters available to choose from each have their own specialties. The versatile Skybolt finds a balance between traversing quickly (using her triple dash) and dealing damage. However, she doesn't compare in terms of strength and extra health to the tanky Legacy, who may be slower in speed, but is harder to defeat and requires more resources to destroy. Meanwhile, ranged shooters may not have the best defensive options, but can attack when their opponents are too far away to counterattack.
However, there really is more to the game than just throwing punches and hoping for luck. Each character also has additional skills that can be activated by raising your palm, such as Skybolt's life force regeneration ability to assist you and your team. The more damage you take and deal, the closer you get to the ultimate attack, which can turn the tide of a battle. When charged, these ultimate attacks can be activated by bringing your fist close in front of you, just like the Incredible Hulk.
While it sounds like there's so much to remember in such a short amount of time, once you start playing, the whole experience feels very intuitive. It takes just a few seconds of trying and you'll be able to pick it up easily, and before long you'll be zipping around the environment and defeating opponents as if you've always done it. It's accessible even to those new to VR, or the category as a whole, and has the potential to attract new audiences.
While there are only three characters to choose from in this early alpha, there are plans to offer six when the game initially launches next year.
source:uploadvr
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