Ok, ok, perfection may be a bit of a stretch, but Battlerite gets a lot of things right in this newly skinned and tuned arena brawler. For those that don’t know, Battlerite is a top down arena style brawler with MOBA type combat and action skills. I mentioned newly skinned because it is actually an older game by the name of “Bloodline Champions” that has been reworked based on player feedback to create a better and more polished iteration.
Even though this game is considered to be in Steam Early Access it already feels very much like a complete release at a great $20 price point. The completeness, polish and amount of content is enough to easily justify purchasing the game, even at this early stage. The game boasts an impressive 15 different characters right out the gate and your $20 gives you immediate access to all of them with developers promising that you will be granted immediate and free access to all new characters released as well.
Onto the game itself though, the graphics are typical for a MOBA, nothing you haven’t seen before and exactly what you’ve probably come to expect from the genre. The artwork is reminiscent of World of Warcraft and the abilities give off a flare that is noticeable but likely nothing that will really impress you. The music is also something unimpressive but passable. Right now you might be thinking to yourself “you said this was arena PVP perfection but so far it sounds like a boring game, what’s perfect about it?” Well, let me tell you. The character balance and battlerite system along with the feel of the combat is what makes this game what it is.
In most pvp games I have played including HoTS, WoW, and even shooters like CoD or Battlefield, you are dealing with a rock, paper, scissors type element where each class, character, gun, etc has a counter if not a direct hard counter meaning another class can easily beat you if they are the class that is supposed to beat you by game design. For example a sniper shooting at a shotgunner running in an open field with them 100 yards apart or an assassin like Zeratul fighting 1v1 against a Jaina in HoTS. Only high skill, teamwork, luck or a combination of these would allow you to beat your counter in these games. In Battlerite this type of system doesn’t exist, each character is designed to hold their own in a fair fight against each and every other character. Skill is so important in this game that it makes it a true pvp arena brawler. In this game a counter is delivered by understanding your opponent’s character and when to use your skills to counter the skills they are using. For instance, one of the beefy tank melee characters has a spell reflect type ability that is on a fairly long cooldown that can be used to absolutely destroy a ranged caster type character but if you pop your spell reflect at the wrong time the caster class can punish you for it. Knowing when to use your skill and how is so important and gives each character a chance in any encounter.
In Battlerite you can choose to pick any of the 15 characters that you would like as well as if you would like to compete in 2v2 or 3v3 style game modes. You can group with friends or they will randomly assign you teammates and the wait times are quick and you get right into the action. The 15 characters are split into 5 melee classes, 5 ranged classes and 5 support classes. Melee classes are a mix of DPS assassin style characters and tanks, ranged classes are all DPS assassin type ranged caster types and the support classes are a mix of melee and ranged style supports. Support doesn’t always mean heals it could also mean crowd control focused characters or other type of debuffs. Right now there is a healthy mix of characters and it will take time for you to get used to playing with each character and against them. I’ve seen all types of combinations of characters and not one combination has seemed like it was an advantage or overpowered. When I lost, I lost because my opponent was simply better than I was or made a better choice in battlerites than I did.
The name Battlerite is in direct correlation to their upgrade system which shares the same name. At the start of each round, up to a maximum of 5 rounds, you get to choose from 1 of 3 battlerites for your character which are buffs or enhancements to abilities. For instance you may gain a reduced cooldown on an ability or gain health leech by landing an ability or an increase in damage for a specific ability. As the rounds go on your character gets more and more powerful and you can tailor the build of your character to better suit you against your opponent. This is where knowledge of characters really comes into play and can give you a big advantage over your opponent by choosing skills that will more easily punish your opponent’s character. For example if your opponent is a less mobile character choosing battlerites that will give you more mobility to either chase down or get away from your opponent would be smart choice, but knowing to do this is where the knowledge of the game helps and will develop for dedicated players over time.
Even though this game lacks the visual flair or epic music featured by some of its competitors, the gameplay and balance of it all completely shines through. For any pvp’er who thrives on competitive play and wants a balanced and fun experience I highly recommend this game especially at the $20 price point. Hopefully with it still being early access the value will just get better and better.
