In the post-apocalyptic action online game Crossout (PC, PS4, Xbox One), you build your own vehicles and take them into battle. The best part: the game is a free-to-play title. Whether the intense vehicle battles are fun, you will find out in this preview test.
- Crossout is described as a free-to-play action MMO, at least that’s how the developer titles it. Similar to World of Tanks, multiple vehicles controlled by players battle on a map.
- The twist: There are a seemingly endless number of parts with which you can assemble your own vehicle. This allows you to quickly create an agile buggy or a heavily armored vehicle.
- Even futuristic combat walkers crawl across the battlefield. And thanks to the detailed damage model, you can delightfully dismantle enemy vehicles into their individual components.
- In addition to PvP battles, there are cooperative missions for up to 4 players, where you compete against AI. As you gain experience, there is an opportunity to develop combat machines called Leviathans and unleash them on players in PvE missions.
My First Minutes
It all starts with the first matches. Until level 3, Crossout sends you into bot battles, which finish pretty quickly. After that, it’s off to multiplayer battles with up to 16 players. Before you can create vehicles yourself, you start with a rusty vehicle equipped with two machine guns. Once on the battlefield, I first took a little honor lap to familiarize myself with the terrain. Then came the first enemy. Load ammunition, aim, and fire bullets.
After a few seconds, only a riddled rust bucket was lying on the ground. After about 10 minutes, the first match was over. But I was just having too much fun! So I took another round, even though I really should have been in bed by then.
A small downside: at the beginning, there are only sluggish bot battles. The AI is, to make matters worse, extremely dumb! It often happened that enemy bots just stood around as if they were enjoying a virtual cup of coffee — or machine oil.
PvP against Players is Significantly More Challenging
Once you reach account level 3, you get to fight against real players. Two teams with 8 players on each side battle on the battlefield. The first team to destroy all the vehicles of the opposing team or capture their base wins. The PvP fights feel much more complex than just dealing with apathetic bots. Within a minute, I had already aimed my first enemy and gave them a good beating with my MGs.
After I had eliminated this one, the next enemy came rushing in. However, this one had one tire less and was hence driving rather awkwardly. I decided to blast their remaining tires and there they stood — helpless on the battlefield.
Build Your Own Vehicle and a Huge Leviathan!
The heart of Crossout is the extensive editor, in which you can build countless variations of vehicles. To unlock new parts, you must choose a faction in the game. These have different missions and grant you access to increasingly powerful parts over time. However, the factions do not have a special story. As a cherry on top, there is also the possibility to build a giant Leviathan. These monsters are much larger than normal vehicles and have an arsenal of various weapons. Once you’ve assembled one, you can register it in the game and unleash it on player groups.
Every time your Leviathan takes down players, you earn additional rewards.
Complete Destruction
A special feature of Crossout is the damage model. You can destroy the armor and parts of the enemy vehicle with your weapons, leaving only a hollow, completely riddled shell. Therefore, you should think carefully about how you create your vehicle. If you build your vehicle poorly, you will have weaknesses and could end up like my last opponent, suddenly without tires on the field. The cool part: Depending on which parts of the enemy vehicle are destroyed, it will affect the gameplay accordingly. If someone shoots off your weapon, you’ll be wandering around unarmed for the rest of the battle and might even ram into a few enemies. But shooting is no longer an option! If your tires are gone, you stand in the middle of the battlefield and can only helplessly watch as other drivers mercilessly take you down from your blind spot.
The PvE Part
A distinctive feature of Crossout is the additional PvE missions. Here you must fulfill various mission objectives with up to 3 teammates and compete against AI. This way, you protect a base or escort a valuable cargo. Then there are missions where you fight against a huge metal can, known as a Leviathan. To play PvE, you need fuel, which you only get for victories in PvP mode. The developers aim to ensure that the main part, namely PvP, is in the foreground. However, I believe that you can gather fuel quite quickly.
What Does the Community Say?
Let’s take a look at the user reviews on Steam. These are mixed. Many players appreciate the artistic freedom when it comes to building vehicles. Since you have a seemingly endless choice here, you create your own vehicle. However, the so-called Hovers in the game, i.e., hover tanks, are criticized by some users for being too strong. It is also reported that the balance does not work properly and thus some teams have more or fewer players on the starting line.
Is Crossout Fair?
Like in many free-to-play games, you can have plenty of fun for hours without having to spend a cent. You can craft the individual parts for your vehicle yourself, but this takes time. If you don’t have time, you can take a look at the auction house, which facilitates trading between players. Prices rise and fall, and if you buy at the right time, you save a lot. There is also the option to get in-game currency with a bit of wallet investment. However, some prices are quite steep. Some epic parts will already cost a pretty penny.
If you’re planning to spend some euros, you should first look at the packages containing pre-assembled vehicles with additional goodies. Such bundles usually have a solid price-performance ratio.
Conclusion: Is Crossout Worth It?
Crossout is a cool game. I like that I can build my ride myself. This leads to individually designed vehicles that have a lot going for them and could easily come straight out of the latest Mad Max movie. The hit physics is also enjoyable. Man, what a feeling it is when the enemy stands motionless on the track without tires and is marked for destruction!
Only the sluggish AI is a bit annoying at first. But luckily, you quickly start brawling with real players. The PvE mode, where you cooperate against the AI, is also interesting and refreshes the genre.
In conclusion, Crossout is worth it. The bonus: it’s free. So just take a look and see for yourself.
