Battleborn

Editor's Notes

Digital Xbox One version reviewed.

Introduction

'Battleborn' is a hybrid FPS and MOBA from Gearbox, the makers of the Borderlands series. It is available now on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

The MOBA genre has done well for itself on PC but can be a tough sell to many players, as the games have deep, sometimes arcane rules and a constantly shifting meta. Several companies have tried to tap into the fascination with varying levels of success, but 'Battleborn' is the rare combo of first-person shooter and MOBA. In terms of marketing, I'd guess that the FPS aspect is the hook, but the MOBA elements are equally as crucial.

The primary multiplayer gametype is Incursion. Two teams of five heroes square off on each end of the map, while NPC minions crawl down towards the opposing base. Mercs can be hired and turrets can be purchased to harass enemies.

Each hero has three abilities, usually skillshots of some kind, with the third being an ultimate. Every hero has a role - some are tanks, some are healers, and so on, and they gain abilities with each level up. To win, a team needs to shut down the opposing core after whittling down their defenses. These are textbook MOBA rules, but in 'Battleborn' they have been paired with power-ups, wacky guns, and loud heroes for a more bombastic and glitzy experience, sometimes dumb but sometimes a real treat.

The opening cinematic is typical Gearbox fare - very slick, with agreeable music and in this case, excellent anime-style animation to tell the story of the Battleborn. Afterwards there is the intro mission with Mellka, an easy-to-learn fighter with a machine pistol and debuffing claw lunge. Flush with excitement, I dove into the publicly matchmade story missions, and my expectations hit a wall of trope. All of the strategic balances that have been made to the characters in competitive mode are less useful in the story, where the AI is anemic and not all of the characters have a clear role. Wave clearers like Rath and Thorn are worth their weight in gold, but healers like the mushroom ninja Miko twiddle their thumbs a lot, throwing out knives for piddly damage while waiting with bated breath for their comrades to take damage just so they can be useful. Commonly used shooter formulae are on display here in full force, like the bullet sponge bosses that periodically throw up impenetrable shields at predictable intervals while adds flood the arena. These are preceded by long horde-style fights around a central macguffin to be protected, and quickly become stale.

It has a serious case of trying to fit a MOBA peg into a campaign shooter hole, but at least most of the story content is mildly entertaining. It does try really hard to be funny, but often succeeds, especially with comical heroes like Montana and Orendi. The story itself is not badly written but also doesn’t make itself hard to ignore, even more so than Gearbox’s own 'Borderlands'. 'Battleborn' mixes the endless loot hauling of that game with some of the store system from 'League of Legends', represented by color-coded pickups that turn into equippable gear. It fits into the bulky and unwieldy Command leveling framework, where a mind-boggling array of challenges and unlockables accompany each character. It is a bit on the grindy side, but I have a feeling that many dedicated 'Battleborn' players won’t mind spending hours with a particular character in the hunt for traits and skins and whatnot.

The competitive multiplayer is not perfect, but is a far sight better than the campaign and an admirable synthesis of two disparate genres. I gravitated there quickly after becoming bored with the campaign and enjoyed myself duking it out with many of the two dozen heroes. By and large they are fun to play, although everyone has their preferred playstyle. Snipers like Marquis who rely on quick skillshots are not as fun to me as a tank that initiates combat and uses map awareness to protect their friends, and thankfully there is something for everyone amidst 'Battleborn's respectable roster. The aforementioned Miko is invaluable during a Conquest match, especially when paired alongside a tough, large initiator like Montana who can hold his ground for a long time. This is where the obsessive strategy of the MOBA comes into play, and the group of friends that uses voice communication and a carefully selected team of heroes is going to have a clear advantage over five mute randoms. Matchmaking is decent at the time of this review, with most matches having an acceptable length and not ending in blowouts.