There are not so many high -quality multiplayer shooters who can collect and keep a large base of players with them, and even more so in the sunshine and even more so. From modern games come to mind except Quake Champions And Unreal Tournament , who are now undergoing beta and prealfa tests, respectively.

So on Lawbreakers , the development of which is headed by Cliff Blezhinsky, who was responsible for creating GEARS of WAR And the aforementioned Unreal , High hopes are entrusted. But can she do the same as, for example, a year ago Overwatch from Blizzard?

Let's look at this issue together.

Hooks, jetpaks and jerks

Each team has five players each, and there are no restrictions on the number of identical heroes.

A good multiplayer project primarily needs an original idea and its excellent implementation. With this, Lawbreakers is all right. Imagine that in classic arenas, where all the diversity consisted of several types of weapons and strengthening, heroes with their own abilities appeared ..

It sounds like Overwatch characters were transferred to Quake. In part, the same is it: the same two or three abilities with a short rollback, several licenses and one ultimatum. And all – on the same buttons! Even a description of the abilities of the heroes is caused by the same F1!

Nine roles are available in the game, and for each side – Law and, as you already guessed, Breakers is your own character. For example, in the picture of Toska-9 and Maverick, two avant-garde.

However, the gameplay in Lawbreakers is much more dynamic and, what is there, "more vertical". In key points on the maps, zones with gravitational anomalies are placed: in some the power of attraction is directed at one point, in others it is not at all. Fly wherever you want!

Movement in Lawbreakers is the key to survival, so each hero has at least one special intensity affecting his movement: teleport, jetpack, hook or something else. Say, a ghost (Wraith) can make a tack or jump, and with the help of PKM – to strike with a knife and make a small jerk forward. In the assassin there is a hook-cat in the arsenal-with him it can be attracted not only to the surfaces, but also to the enemies. Caught on, pulled up, inflicted crushing damage with a dagger. And this is not all the skills of the characters!

If you use these abilities correctly, you can develop a decent speed and give the flight paths with zero gravity an element of unpredictability. This will greatly increase your chances to break through the enemy base simultaneously and keep limbs intact. Your survival depends only on your skills: accuracy, reactions, knowledge of maps and mechanic of the game. Otherwise, any brittle enemy will beat you, even if it stands with your back … Because in Lawbreakers, any character knows how to shoot blindly over the shoulder!

There is no division into classes in the game – each character plays its own role. But among them there was a place for the “tank” (in the screenshot) and the medic (in the video below).

Analogies with Overwatch beg for: there is its own sold-76 with an automatic rifle, and its own McCry with an exact gun. However, there is not a single sniper in Lawbreakers.

A small, but very cool detail: the ball in Blitzball mode is voiced by Justin Royland, the creator and voice of Rick and Morty.

And you know what? This is wonderful. At first, it is impossible to distinguish anything – in front of the eyes of complete hell, a mess from the tracers, flashes and explosions … But over time, having studied each hero and each card, you begin to get sincere pleasure from every fight won.

Lawbreakers is focused on the team game, but there is no familiar Team Deathmatch in it. All modes are tied to one or more objects: OverchaRge and Uplink are quite intriguing variations Capture The Flag, Turf War – a slightly altered seizure of points, and Blitzball is most similar to basketball, only without passes and a fatal outcome. It is almost impossible to win the game yourself here, to win, you need to either cooperate with the team, or initially play with friends.

A fly in the ointment

But besides all this splendor, Lawbreakers also have disadvantages. Firstly, the history of the world and heroes. The success of the same Overwatch would not be so grandiose without painstaking work Blizzard on the setting and mythology of the game. There, each hero has his own unique character and a prescribed biography, and almost none of the players does not give a damn about the world of Overwatch. And Blizzard also regularly fuel the public interest with new comics and short films, and each appearance of a new character is accompanied by an explosion of art and cosplay on Reddit.

The design of many characters … let's say, not everyone will like it.

And here we know about the background only that it is. There are no personalities in Lawbreakers (at least now), but there are blanks whose history has to climb into a fan wiki. And well, it would be enough to attract enough attention to the game, but (and this is the second problem) LB has just a disgusting PR campaign.

According to the Githyp rating service, during an open beta test, the peak of activity reached a bar of 7,500 people, and on average only 3,500 people played at the Lawbreakers simultaneously!

For comparison, the open beta test in the PaladinS genre debuted with an indicator of 38,000 players, and today, ten months after the release, the Paladins are steadily in the list of twenty most popular games in Steam. And given the indicators of Lawbreakers, there are involuntarily fears that the game will be comprehended as BattleBorn.

Well, of course, where without chests with skins? Developers from Boss Key Productions obviously learn from the best.

More screenshots from Lawbreakers

In an interview with Gamespot, Cliff Blazhinsky said that he would like to develop Lawbreakers in the same way as Psyonix do Rocket League or Digital Extreme from Warframe. He understands that the game at the https://the-vic-gb-casino.co.uk/ start will not be balanced: someone will have to “reappriate” others, interest in the game must be constantly supported.

And Boss Key Productions is ready for this. They are ready to surprise, work with players, collect reviews and make edits, closed beta tests clearly showed this: according to the results of the ZBT, the players asked to add Kill-kama after death-and now this option is already in development, and after the release (or a little later ) We will probably be able to receive information about who killed us and how.

It is hoped that Lawbreakers will find their niche, and the developers will not throw the game as, for example, Ubisoft Blinded For Honor. What will come of all this, we will find out very soon: the release is scheduled for August 8 on PC and PS4.