We take a look at the new Free2Play MMO StarBreak, which is causing a stir on Steam.
The MMO StarBreak tries to engage players through a roguelike mechanic. Can this work?
MMOs have a hard time in the age of mobile games. They are too expensive, cumbersome to patch, and it’s impossible to please every player. To stand out from the crowd, especially when you don’t have the money for AAA graphics, a niche must be addressed.
In StarBreak, this niche includes players with a slightly masochistic streak.
What is StarBreak? – The Gameplay
In StarBreak, you play a soul that can take control of a “shell.” There are four different classes (“shells”) in the game. You unlock these by leveling up.
For this, you travel through portals to various locations and kill everything in your path. Enemies drop pickups and equipment. The pickups permanently increase your maximum health, jump height, and running speed. New equipment gives your weapons special abilities (shots are split or bounce off walls) or you get different grenades.
By constantly finding new equipment, an item spiral develops that pulls you deeper into its vortex.
Once your “shell” is killed, the game shows you a list of your collected items and pickups, and you receive corresponding experience points. This increases your (soul) level.
Permadeath as a Stylistic Device
Dark Souls re-established death as a punishment, and numerous games tried to hop on that bandwagon.
While Dark Souls only cracked the door to roguelike mechanics slightly, StarBreak takes a step further and opens it wide. In StarBreak, you don’t lose a part of your progress, but nearly everything. Only your level and the collected money, as well as items stored in the stash, remain. You lose your equipped weapons and collected bonuses when your “shell” meets its end.
In your home, your soul also finds a new “shell,” and the journey continues.
Mass over Class. Class over Mass
On your journey, you are accompanied by other players who are also moving around in your vicinity and want to advance themselves. The larger the mass of players, the easier it is to defeat enemies, but the game also becomes increasingly chaotic.
As one of many, you are just a nameless face. And your bond with other players lasts as long as they are of use to you. If they die or are too slow because they need to adjust equipment first, you move on with the mass. You could almost say that this is essentially the essence of the game.
This is also a point that I view critically. In this MMO, the solidarity of players is rewarded only as long as they stay alive. Other players become shields or clear the way for you. That is their only purpose. This game stands almost as a symbol for our disposable society.
On the other hand, it is also a wonderful feeling when you stand out as the (ostensibly) best player from the mass and other players wait for you so that you can clear up for them (or so that they take no damage and thus take no risk).
Furthermore, this game primarily revolves around your control over your character. If you master the gameplay mechanics well, it is theoretically possible to defeat much stronger opponents solo.
You can download the game for free on Steam. But don’t expect a milestone.
If you enjoy this type of game and had fun in “Realm Of The Mad God,” definitely check it out.
This article is from our reader Lucas Kaczynski.
If you search for MMOs on Steam, you might find our list of the 20 most popular MMOs on Steam.
