Primary Game Type: Mission-Based Third-Person Co-op Shooter.
| Factor | Score (1 - 5) | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| A. Teamwork | 5 | The four-man squad, shared stratagem economy, and friendly fire all enforce intense interdependence. Survivability increases exponentially in numbers its not uncommon to see teams of 4 pair up into twos. The games netcode allows for open slots to be filled by other players if your match is set to private to add more fuel to the flames of fun. |
| B. Communication | 5 | Necessary & encouraged. Spotting enemies (e.g., Chargers), coordinating objectives, warning others of impending doom encourages, clear comms, especially on high difficulties. Many folks choose to mic up but those that don't can get by communicating with the emote wheel. |
| C. Co-op Vibe | 4 | The Vibe is here. While there is no benefit to lone wolfing and the shared threats and constant pressure of enemies finds you leaning on your teammates and them leaning on you to have a shared experience of slogging through the mess to save Super Earth and preserve Managed Democracy™ you're going to find players that do so and end up draining your team resources quickly |
| Factor | Score (1 - 5) | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| D. Aesthetics | 5 | The games visuals are fantastic. The variety of enemies keeps you on your toes because while there's three different "armies" you're going to face you never know what you're going to run into clearing a ridge and how you are going to deal with it |
| E. Mechanics | 5 | The weapons operation is punchy and the physics is dialed up to the absurd at time. The exosuits have heft and the enemies in your scope will drop if you hit them in the right spot. There's something to be said about explosions sending you or your enemies flying through the air. The missions take place on varying planets with varying types of terrain which can make traversing the maps a challenge in an of itself that players have to factor in. |
| F. Dynamics | 4 | As a "live service" game the devs are trying hard to come up with new weapons, enemies, and even missions for players to tackle and keep it fresh but the core gameplay loop never changes. Start on the ship, drop onto the planet, do the objective and come home. The seasoning for this recipe is how you interact with the playerbase and how they interact with you so as long as you have a player population it should be good. |
| Factor | Score (1 - 5) | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| G. Community Support | 2.5 | The devs churn out content for the game on a fairly regularly basis (seems like 8-12 weeks if they're not troubleshooting or on holiday) which is on par with a "live service" game. The problems arise with how the devs and the people they hired as "Community Managers" interact with the community through lack of transparency at times, failing to take responsibility for mistakes, poor communication, condescension, gaslighting and just a general disregard. |
| H. Economy | 4 | The game is a single time purchase and being a live service game no "DLC" though there are in premium warbonds (weapons, armor, strategems, cosmetics, etc) the user can purchase via Super Credits which can be farmed (albeit slowly) in game or purchased with real world money. Nothing is "pay to win" but the items in the warbonds lend to the diversity of the game so users are encouraged to save up and get the warbonds they like to use the gear inside them. |
| I. Learning Curve | 3.5 | The player tutorial sets the tone for the game, nothing is overly complicated ie point weapon towards enemy and pull trigger/throw. The problems arise with new mission types being introduced and at times lacking intuitiveness can be frustrating. Players finding themselves encountering new medium-large enemies will often aim for the "glowy bits" only to discover those are not the "weak spots" and be frustrated. The game relies on "tribal knowledge" with players taking the time to maintain a wiki with information that really should be coming from the devs. |
Imagine being akin to an untrained Starship Trooper from Heinleins book trapped in a universe of 80s/90s sci-fi action flicks and relying on other equally overpowered and untrained individuals and you have a very fun recipe for chaos.
The game does a good job of keeping constant tension on you and your teammates from the moment you land to the moment you leave. The community of players in general are friendly and your dependence on one another to not accidentally kill you makes for often hilarious encounters as you're overrun by bugs, bots, or the voteless.
Arrowhead studios at times seems to be trying to placate the community but they often run afoul by lacking transparency, failing to take responsibility for their own shortcomings, gaslighting their playerbase, and rather than lifting the game/community up to a higher level they strive to lower everything to the baseline which can be irksome more often than not.
The games fun though suffers from getting repetitive once you grind out all the gear but what keeps me coming back is just the absurd action packed missions and how nothing ever goes to plan and yet rather than frustrate me I can't help but laugh. The biggest danger to this game is the devs getting careless and pushing the community away rather than embracing it because without a player population this game will not be worth playing.
Final Score: 4.28 / 5.0