


The incredible freedom of movement also means it’s possible to disengage from a bad fight. Equippable runes grant even more movement powers like flight, teleportation, and invisibility. Regardless of your class, everyone is capable of gliding over short distances, opening up the sky as a battlefield with flying boulders and meteoric fireballs. The map is still relatively large - not nearly the size of in PUBG or Apex but more than big enough for a few dozen mages to fly around. “We wanted to keep the map tight and since players can’t really hide or spend much time inside buildings, it means having more players could be overwhelming.” “Having fewer players means matches move quickly,” said Sivak. The smaller player count also makes Spellbreak an easier battle royale to jump into.
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It’s easy to see in the practice lobby screen, when our pool of 30-35 players begins a match with the full 42-wizard roster. Bots are used to fill empty slots during matchmaking. Once a friend and I were able to reach first place in Duos, which was unheard of in our Apex Legends days.Īfter reaching Mage Rank 10 we’re still finding some bots in matches, easily identifiable due to their defiant unwillingness to dodge incoming attacks “The number of bots in matches is scaled down based on the players’ Mage Rank,” said Sivak. Sometimes my team is wiped out within a minute of dropping into a hotly contested drop zone other times we’re able to successfully reach the top 3 by efficiently gathering equipment upgrades and carefully choosing routes and targets before chaos ensues. Things get more challenging after the initial bot-loaded matches give way to real human players. Spells generate additional effects when hit with a second element, resulting in freezing boulders, fire tornadoes, and explosive poison clouds, creating delightfully colorful and chaotic battlefields. In addition, players can loot and equip a second gauntlet while exploring the island, creating interesting class combinations. The Frostborn’s ice bow leaves a trail of ice they can skate on, while the Tempest’s wind powers make them stronger in the air. Each class includes a set of leveled talents that are automatically applied when reaching a new shrinking circle, creating specialized play styles. In place of characters, players choose one of six elemental gauntlets, like Stoneshaper, Frostborn, or Toxicologist. Spellbreak‘s mages trade guns for spells. “Due to the unique nature of the combat, these initial matches are set up to help ease players into the gameplay.” “The first couple of matches are populated with bots,” confirmed Seth Sivak, CEO of Proletariat.

I won my very first Solos match of Spellbreak, feeling ridiculously overconfident with my poison spells until I realized the first match is full of brain-dead bots. Thanks to its magic-powered third-person combat, fun range of movement, and relatively low player count, Spellbreak is a welcoming, player-friendly battle royale, even for the worst of us.
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Spellbreak, developed by indie studio Proletariat and recently released as free to play on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Epic Games Store, doesn’t shy away from checking all the boxes of the battle royale genre: drop down on a giant island, scavenge for loot, and survive as the last person (or team) standing amidst an ever-shrinking circle. I continued to watch the genre from afar, my hands pressed against the glass of the battle royale sweet shop, not daring to venture inside. Meeting an enemy team was near-instant death, every time.Īt the risk of further humiliation and demoralizing evenings, we ultimately shelved Apex Legends. Crisp shooting with lots of guns, fun characters with unique powers, and a helpful ping system left us hungry to jump into this explosive multiplayer genre. Here was a battle royale we could get into.

When Apex Legends released last year, my friends and I were overjoyed.
