Spellbreak is a colorful game that lets you engage in wild battle royale battles with wizards. The MeinMMO editors Jürgen Horn and Noah Struthoff have played the magic spectacle and found both great potential and some issues that the developers should urgently address.
What is Spellbreak? Spellbreak is a colorful game with cel-shaded comic graphics. In short, it is a proper battle royale with wizards, in which you knock each other out not with guns but with magic.
Currently, Spellbreak is in beta. But it is expected to be released for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch as a free-to-play title with crossplay in 2020.
You start in Spellbreak with a previously selected magic glove along with associated spell skills and collect a second glove and additional runes for more skills during the game. Particularly cool: you can combine the effects of different gloves.
The fire glove can create a cloud of flames, for example. If you shoot this with a lightning glove, it becomes an electrically charged fire cloud that causes even more damage.
How our first experiences in the game went
When Noah and I saw the first videos and information about Spellbreak, we were already very impressed. The colorful comic graphics looked great, and the idea of skill combos especially impressed me. In the video, it looked particularly cool how fissures in the earth turned into magma eruptions using fire combos, or how one could blow away flying boulders with air magic.
Therefore, we were very eager to prove ourselves in the wizard’s battle royale.
Imagine it’s battle royale and no one shows up
So dull was our start: After we briefly familiarized ourselves with the game in the tutorial, Noah and I were already eager to unleash our cool levitation ability and nuke opponents, dramatically sending them into oblivion with combos!
On the massive map, we picked a centrally located ruin and jumped into battle. Central locations are often a popular target in BR games, so we expected wild action right away.
But after our landing, there was nothing. No one showed up! The entire region was completely deserted, and we could collect all the loot undisturbed. Well, I thought to myself. Now we have great gear and will take down enemies even harder when we encounter them. The riffraff must be lurking somewhere, right?
No enemies in sight: But no such luck! We wandered through the bushes for about fifteen minutes and looted like crazy raccoons, but nowhere, absolutely nowhere, was an enemy to be seen. The whole world appeared deserted. “Is anyone even here?” I asked Noah, who also had no clue what was going on. Maybe we were trapped in a bug in an alternate map dimension and would have to wander alone until the bitter end of the match?
Enemies only in the endgame: Eventually, the familiar death zone from BR games forced us – here a magical storm – to keep moving west on the map, and the playable area kept getting smaller. There was still nothing going on here, and we mindlessly continued looting. Who would have thought that this grand distraction would at one point feel so dull to me?
But then I suddenly heard Noah: “Hey, I think there is someone here!” And indeed, some chests had been looted, and they weren’t by us! Shortly after, we saw something on the horizon. Those are enemies! Finally! Attack them with a roar!
Effect fireworks kill everything: We all had some cool-looking spells in our gloves and wanted to use them. But hardly had we thrown fireballs and lightning when we were met with a fireworks display of chaos and destruction. The earth shook, lightning struck, poisonous clouds spread over us, and ice shards flew around.
In seconds, we were dead, and the game was over. “What the hell was that?” we both said in unison in the chat.
These were our problems with Spellbreak
What happened next? Of course, we didn’t want it to end this way and played for another two hours. However, the experiences were strikingly similar. There were only barely a dozen enemies present, and the early and mid-game remained dull.
In the end, however, everyone came together, and it was a blast. We got a bit better and no longer died instantly, but since we had barely any opportunity to test the various skills and spells, we were consistently taken down by the experienced beta veterans in the endgame without much hassle.
These are the problems of Spellbreak: Eventually, we had had enough and discussed the game and our experiences:
- There are far too few players for the large map
- The battles are very chaotic, and you hardly know what is happening
- The many skills and spells are interesting, but you hardly know what each thing does. The game could thus be more beginner-friendly and accessible
That would actually be good: But not everything was bad; we also liked a lot:
- You can fly, which is a lot of fun and allows for dynamic gameplay during exploration and in combat
- The cel-shading graphics are just wonderful
- The various spells look great, and the combos are actually a good idea
- The runes, which enable further skills such as teleportation and invisibility, are also a great addition
- The world and its story have the potential for a cool narrative
Here’s how to solve the problems: Subsequently, we thought about what the game lacks and how it could become successful. In our opinion, it came down to two aspects.
On the one hand, a BR game needs many opponents. It’s no coincidence that the trend in the genre has shifted from tactical PUBG to dynamic titles like Apex Legends and Warzone. The peak of this development is currently the fast-paced Hyper Scape. There is almost constantly something happening, and dead players can re-enter with a little help from their team until the very end. Spellbreak should urgently allow more players onto the maps and thus ensure more action. Nothing is more tedious than experiencing minutes of nothing and then abruptly dying.
Regarding accessibility, we believe it would also be great if the developers introduced additional AI bots into the game. They would leave behind loot and provide rudimentary resistance. But it should be easy to nuke them, possibly also with certain skill combos. Then you could test your spells and effects, receive loot, and have something to do if no enemies show up.
The developers say about our comments
We interviewed the developers of Spellbreak about the above points and a bit more. Executive Producer Cardell Kerr from the studio Proletariat was available for a conversation.
More players and bots are planned
First, we asked the developer about our main problem in the game. Namely, that you would wander around for ages on the huge map without finding any opponents and whether one could imagine AI bots as a way to break the monotony.
MeinMMO: When we played, there were a maximum of 16 opponents on the map, often even fewer. Therefore, we wandered around for a long time and looted, but nothing happened. Only toward the end, when the playable area was small enough, did we encounter wild action. Is that by design, or were there just so few because it’s still in beta and currently fewer people are playing?
Cardell Kerr: It’s currently a mix of both. We intentionally don’t want as many players on the map as in other BR games. Because things get quite chaotic, and if even more players unleash their spells, it becomes even more wild, and it’s hard to comprehend what is happening. We’ve thus agreed on around 42 players.
And then our current test phase is just coming to an end and will be shut down soon. Therefore, people are generally seeing fewer players than usual. However, it will get quite crowded at launch, I’m sure of that.
But it might be that you don’t see anyone right at the start, but in the first two minutes, you should always find someone to fight.
MeinMMO: What about bots or AI opponents? They would liven things up a bit and provide opportunities for practice. And you could give them loot so that it would be worth it for experienced players to take them out.
Cardell Kerr: That’s a very good idea! There are a few challenges, because our game is completely three-dimensional. Since you can fly and move like Ironman, it’s tricky to program the bots so they act like real players. Bots are simply dumb.
They don’t do much, especially not what players can do. But of course, they don’t have to be that way. You just mentioned that the bots should serve more for practice and as fillers. We’ve actually been thinking about that.
We want to develop the game further, even in terms of story. We want to see Spellbreak as the “fantasy IP” of our generation. We want to evolve it and plan new things. And there’s also the idea that creatures might suddenly appear on the map. They don’t have to be totally smart and dangerous. They could be part of a story event in the game.
“It’s about becoming the ultimate battle mage”
Our second major criticism was the wild effect chaos and the low accessibility of the game.
MeinMMO: We were completely overwhelmed by the multitude of skills and the numerous effects. When we hit opponents, we were immediately taken out and didn’t know what had happened. This seemed not very beginner-friendly. Do you have a solution for this or is it meant to be like that?
Cardell Kerr: Spellbreak has been live for over two years now. We are very keen on having a high skill cap internally. We want you to constantly learn something new. On the other hand, we want you to understand the game. We already introduced skills during the alpha that reduce movement and make the game a little less frantic.
On the other hand, the theme of the game is “Become the ultimate battle mage!” We also want you to occasionally find yourself in situations where the fire from the sky rains down on you and crushes you.
MeinMMO: Yes, that’s exactly how it went for me!
Cardell Kerr: [laughs] Yes, exactly that. Sometimes you think to yourself in Spellbreak, “What the… what is going on?” This is somewhat of a feature of our game. Sometimes you’re the ultimate battle mage and crush the opponent with the flames of the heavens. But sometimes it also happens to you, and you get crushed by it.
But yes, our focus has always been on ensuring that players better understand what is happening to them. Additionally, you were unlucky that our beta has been running for so long, and there are simply many very experienced players around.
And then we have set ourselves the goal of creating a truly unique game. Even if you’ve played many battle royale games, you won’t be able to transfer your skills 1:1 here.
MeinMMO: Okay, that makes sense to me. I know many BR games, but here I was pretty confused. I just figured out that the earth mage is a sort of heavy cannon that shoots boulders. And that the lightning mage serves as a sort of sniper. But other than that, I had no idea. Don’t you think that scares off new players if they first understand nothing?
Cardell Kerr: I have been developing games for about 10 years. And there is always the risk of either creating something that’s too familiar or too foreign. If you make something too familiar, players think, “Why should I play this and not that other game?” With too foreign things, players are often hesitant because they have to learn everything anew.
That’s why we chose a middle ground here. You’ve already recognized some commonalities with classic shooters. We want our game to feel familiar enough for players to get in, but still do enough differently to encourage you to experiment.
Spellbreak could become a hidden gem
After the conversation with the devs, we are now a bit wiser and can form a final opinion about Spellbreak and its future.
Jürgen’s conclusion: If all this comes, it will be really good
I really like Spellbreak’s style, but the gameplay hasn’t blown me away yet. However, after the conversation with the developers, I have more hope that the game could succeed.
Because ultimately, the fun of the game stands and falls with enough action and an opportunity to learn the gameplay mechanics. Just having more (inexperienced) players, which there should certainly be at least at launch, would already improve a lot. Because at its core, flying around and launching spells is really a lot of fun!
If the developers actually manage to bring in the bots we suggested, the game would definitely be a lot of fun, because what makes one feel like an all-powerful battle mage more than crushing utterly dumb bots?
Moreover, the developers hinted during the conversation that they want to introduce other game modes besides BR, like tower defense. As a colorful mix of various genres with magic and comic graphics, I can certainly imagine Spellbreak becoming a hidden gem.
Jürgen Horn
Editor at MeinMMO
Noah’s conclusion: Cool approaches, but with room for improvement
I’m not a big fan of fantasy games, but the mix of battle royale and fantasy has truly convinced me. Here, you can still shoot around, and the various gloves provide entirely different effects that somewhat resemble the classic weapons of a shooter.
However, after my first rounds, I was quite disappointed with Spellbreak. I wandered around for 10 minutes, only to die in a fireworks display of effects. That’s simply not motivating, and under such circumstances, I’d rather stick to classic shooters, which I can better master.
If Spellbreak really turns that around so that there’s an easier entry point and maybe even bots to mow down, I will definitely check out the fantasy game again because I really like the core idea behind Spellbreak.
Noah Struthoff
Editor at MeinMMO
Are you interested in other games in the battle royale genre besides Spellbreak? Then check out our list here. We asked MeinMMO readers about which battle royale games they particularly enjoy playing and created a top list from them. Here you will find the most popular games in the battle royale genre on MeinMMO. Have fun!
