Battleborn Reviews
Balancing issues, niggling design problems, and a dearth of content keep Gearbox's new sci-fi shooter from being all it can be
Battleborn isn't a bad game in the sense that it lacks work or effort – the team has clearly put in the hours – it's just that, for me, it's an uninspiring result which can't justify its hefty price tag.
Battleborn merges cooperative and competitive, hero and shooter, loot and shoot into an excellent melting pot and symbol of the times. Charismatic characters, clever intricacies, and compelling gameplay make this one of the best multiplayer experiences of the generation yet.
Battleborn has a strong cast of characters and exciting action, but suffers from a lack of content, frustrating server issues, and some questionable design choices.
While engaging and mostly rewarding, the gameplay can also be described as hectic and chaotic.
Most of its problems are fixable, but Gearbox really needs to fix them and serve up some more content if it wants to turn Battleborn into an ongoing hit concern.
All in all, I'd say Battleborn is a very well made game. The gameplay is fun and actually well thought out, and the characters all bring something different to the table. The story mode can be hit or miss, but the competitive side of things is really where the game shines in its strategy and game play.
With issues peppering its campaign as well as its multiplayer, Battleborn's fusion of first-person shooter and MOBA is far from a complete success. A lengthy list of complaints comes perilously close to overshadowing proceedings, so it's fortunate that its engaging upgrade system and varied roster of characters end up being the true stars keeping you invested in the multiplayer.
If you've ever wondered what the fuss of MOBAs are, or wanted a little more shooter in your battle arena, Battleborn is perfect for you. It is so different from the competitive shooters on the market at the minute. Once you get through the initial trail and error, you won't look back at all.
Battleborn is a good game, that provides plenty of fun but it's just incredibly frustrating seeing all of these tiny issues that come in and ruin the fun every so often.
While it may not be the best, Battleborn does a good enough job of drawing you in, keeping you entertained and ensuring that you have a laugh or two.
For a first attempt at an ever-saturating genre, Battleborn feels like it has carved its niche in a large crowd that is vying for supremacy. While the genre is dominated by League of Legends and DOTA, Battleborn has successfully broken through with its own take on the genre, added lots of fun characters, and a wonderfully bright colour palette
If reviews of Battleborn were conducted maybe six months from now, this experience might be more fleshed out, particularly on the competitive multiplayer side of things, and I hope it is. However, as this game stands now, Battleborn is a brief game that largely stumbles at the hands of a thin competitive multiplayer and grindy progression systems.
The game doesn't shine unless you have real communication among teams, which is tough to find with random players. I can't see myself sticking around to learn all the different Battleborn and embrace what this game is ultimately about without a group of friends to play it with.
Battleborn is by no means a perfect game. Underneath its flaws however, there is a satisfying and fun character-driven shooter to be found.
If Borderlands and the MOBA genre could have a baby, I imagine it would look something like Battleborn. Gearbox Software's signature style shines here, even if the humor falls flat most of the time. With all kinds of loot to tempt gamers into coming back for more, this "hero shooter" looks to be making a name for itself, and should hopefully stick around for a while with content updates now and in the future. There's so much stuff to unlock and master, Battleborn is one for the collectors.
Battleborn has flaws but it also has potential. With time and the right attitude, it could be brilliant, but it's going to take a little work first.
Battleborn is big, colourful and wholly raucous, but its overall design and first-person-shooter/MOBA-inspired mechanics don't gel as well as I was hoping they would. There's a lot of repetition, poor difficulty balancing and a limited amount of content to be found at launch, and while that will surely improve over the coming months, it makes the game's expensive price tag loom high at this point in time.