High Powered Third Person Action
We got hands on at EGX 2017 for our Raiders Of The Broken Planet Preview. Coming from developer Mercury Steam, the developers of the recently released Metroid: Samus Returns. Raiders Of The Broken Planet is a tight, action packed shooter, unsurprising as it comes from the team behind the excellent Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow.
Our session kicked off with a 5 minute tutorial that, for all intents and purposes, was a pretty slow introduction to the game. After which though, we were unleashed into the full game and the action really kicked off. Our play session had us challenging the recently released free prologue of the game. In which one of a handful of characters of your choosing. Is tasked with rescuing potential new team member Lycus. Whom has been captured by the Hades legion and is being transported to captivity.
The action felt concise, with good solid shooting mechanics. As a cover based shooter, I initially found the snap to cover mechanic a little jarring. Your character pops into cover by pushing toward it with the control stick, and I feel a snap to and from button would of been easier to get used to. That said, the game’s got a lovely punchy feel to it, the weapons sound and feel great. Also, there’s some wonderful close quarter combat animations that sound and look epic.
Fun And Challenging
Everything’s in place for fun, visceral shooting action. But this is no run and gun walk in the park, the balance is really spot on. My initial thoughts were to power my way through the level but I quickly got chewed down by enemy gunfire. Furthermore I realised, some degree of strategy to my play would be required. This is where the character’s unique special abilities truly come into play. Also, it’s worth noting that each and every character has a unique ability and weapon, and with over 12 characters in the game there’s a lot of diversity to be had.
The character I chose for our Raiders Of The Broken Planet preview was Alicia. A punk themed, shotgun toting character whose special ability focuses on speed of movement. Her core ability allows her to jump and double jump off walls, giving her a transitional verticality that isn’t available with others. What this inevitably leads to is plenty of creative ways to ricochet around levels, diving in and out of cover, and ultimately putting you as close to the enemy as possible to maximise that shotgun impact.
Free Prologue, Paid Campaigns
The content we played in our Raiders Of The Broken Planet preview, was all part of the very recently released prologue. All of which is available right now for free. The rest of the game is set to roll out in a number of paid for campaigns. Each of which provides plenty of story with all 4 as of yet announced campaigns set to run in parallel expanding the story and the breadth of the universe. Campaigns drop in at £7.99, which given the quality of the mechanics of the game provides a wonderful way to get involved piece by piece.
Furthermore, we haven’t even touched on what makes the game it’s most unique. It’s 4v1 central gameplay mechanic. You can hammer the game with a team of up to 4 friends all taking on different characters. Whilst a 5th player can join as an ‘Antagonist’ whose role is to stop the 4 player team at any cost. All whilst working alongside the abundant enemy AI.
Overall Raiders Of The Broken Planet looks set to mix things up. With a fresh gameplay style, a unique content distribution model and it’s 4V1 action. You can download the prologue for free now on PS4, Xbox One and PC. So why not check it out!