Breakaway is a colorful hero shooter and the first project by Amazon Studios. Breakaway is currently still in open alpha and was also showcased at Gamescom 2017. But what makes Breakaway special and why did Jürgen like it so much? Find out here!
“Not another colorful hero shooter” crossed my mind when I first saw Breakaway at Gamescom 2017. Until then, the first game from Amazon Studios had not caught my attention significantly. However, it was on my list of interesting titles at Gamescom.
However, it does remind me a lot of Overwatch, Gigantic, or Paladins, and with these three titles, fans of hero shooters are already well-served. So what does Amazon intend to do differently?
Breakaway – Hero Selection – The Usual Colorful Bunch
Together with other journalists and some developers, I got to try Breakaway. At first, everything really reminded me of Overwatch or Paladins. There is a selection of colorful and quirky heroes categorized into tanks, damage dealers (melee and ranged), and supporters. Among the selections are:
- an Aztec sun priestess
- a wild barbarian with claw gloves
- a nasty demon angel
- a Viking with an ice axe
- a monstrosity that seems to consist only of gaping maws
- a dark gunslinger
- a sharpshooter similar to Widowmaker, but instead of a high-tech combat visor, wears a cyclopean octopus on her head
Breakaway – Paladins Meets Hutball
Sure, cool quirky heroes are always fun and I love how developers create new combinations from the same archetypes over and over again, but I’m no longer blown away by the umpteenth version of McCree or Widowmaker. Nonetheless, all the heroes looked cool and were lovingly animated and designed.
So I started a round together with three other players. It quickly became clear to me: This is not Overwatch, this is not Paladins, and this is not Gigantic! Because in Breakaway, it’s not about kills or capture points. Instead, the gameplay strongly resembles the fun PvP game mode “Hutball” from Star Wars: The Old Republic or “Chaosball” from the latest ESO DLC “Horns of the Reach”.
In the middle of the rather small playing field lies a ball. You need to grab it and throw it into a well located in the enemy’s starting zone. If you succeed, you score a point. You also get a point if the ball is in the enemy half of the field after 4 minutes of playtime. And if you completely wipe out the opposing team before any of them respawns, you also win a point. The first team to reach three points wins the entire game.
Breakaway – Fast-Paced and Tactical Gameplay
Anyone who picks up the ball cannot attack or use skills. So it’s essential to pass the ball in time, because if the ball carrier is attacked often enough, they will lose the ball again. Only with good teamwork can you achieve your goal by tactically passing the ball to teammates and not rushing in as a lone wolf.
Each hero also has three skills (two offensive, one defensive) and a super ability that really packs a punch. My swift barbarian warrior and assassin Jarra could, for example, jump at the opponent or shower them with a flurry of strikes. For her defense skill, she could turn invisible and quickly escape or strike.
Breakaway – Upgrades Between Rounds
You can also place items, such as small turrets or traps – rather cruelly right in front of your own well. Between rounds, you can also improve your stats with acquired resources, like more health, more damage, or better armor penetration, just like in Paladins.
This way, you become even stronger and may gain an advantage in exciting battles. Overall, Breakaway plays very fast and still strategically, as the chase for the ball is constant.
A moment of inattention, and the enemy breaks through and must be intercepted before they score a “touchdown” in the well. It’s unfortunate if all your powerful skills are on cooldown because you wasted them in an unimportant skirmish a few seconds ago.
Play Breakaway for Free in Alpha on the Weekend
If you enjoy exciting and dynamic hero shooter action in the context of a brutal ball sport, you can pull the Breakaway client at any time and participate in the weekly recurring alpha weekends.
These free testing phases start every Friday at 02:00 and end at 08:59 on Sunday morning, our time. You don’t need a special code; anyone can participate. Since Breakaway is launched via the Twitch game library, you will additionally need the desktop app and a Twitch account.
Here’s the registration for Breakaway
Jürgen’s Conclusion on Breakaway
For me, Breakaway was a pleasant surprise just because I hadn’t had the game on my radar and was only expecting the umpteenth hero shooter. I was even happier when it turned out to be a fun sports game akin to Hutball where something is always happening and the rounds are pleasantly short and full of action.
Furthermore, the game from Amazon already looks really good in alpha and impresses with great comic graphics and smooth animations. I will therefore keep a closer eye on Breakaway in the future and participate in various alpha weekends. Maybe we will see each other there!
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