After integrating into Xbox Game Studios, Ninja Theory try out a different genre. Instead of doing solo titles like DmC: Devil May Cry and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, their new game Bleeding Edge relies entirely on teamplay. And they are really serious!
The third person action beta offers two game modes: energy collection and target control. Energy collection occasionally canisters with batteries appear on the map. Each team has to disassemble and collect them. In the next phase, stations will become active where the batteries can be exchanged for points. Target control is about keeping three defined zones on the map as long as possible and thus collecting points. In both modes, the team that first reaches the specified limit wins the round.
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A total of eleven figures are available, which are divided into three categories. In the event of damage, there are five fighters who specialize in close-range or long-range combat. Support brings together three healers who primarily look after the health of the team. The three tanks are slow, but also give out a lot at close range. Each fighter has his own standard attack that can be used at any time. There is also a passive ability and an evasive maneuver. The three special skills have to cool down after use, but are elementary for the course of the game.
Due to this different game layout, some characters are aimed at beginners and others at advanced levels. Samurai Daemon is a melee with easy-to-understand actions that are fully offensive. In contrast, cyber-assassin Cass can strike quickly, but has very little life energy. There are also noticeable differences among the supporters: While Miko is primarily designed to support melee fighters, Zombie Kulev can also cast curses in addition to healing spells that make opponents more susceptible to damage.
Team is key
In the menus, the game repeatedly points out that you don't want to go it alone, but rather that you constantly work with your teammates. That is actually the key to success. At Bleeding Edge there are hardly any one-on-one situations. Most of the time, all members of the two teams of four travel together. Beat and shoot them at the same time, brightly colored graphics and sound effects quickly cause chaos. Such situations should be avoided if possible.
It makes more sense to decide whether to fight or retreat depending on the situation. For example: attacking a zone in front of the target control, in the vicinity of which the opposing team is already waiting, is doomed to fail. An ambush attack could work instead, after all, the cards offer different ways and shortcuts. Faking an attack or ambush is also possible, but definitely requires communication via chat.
Class instead of mass
A balanced class distribution is indispensable for Bleeding Edge. A team without at least one healer will not get far, because the energy bars of each figure empty quickly in the fray. You also need a tank, because it sometimes keeps two enemy damage players at bay. Fortunately, the game points to shortcomings in the cast, so you can respond when you respawn by choosing a suitable character.
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Platform: PC, One | Date: 06/10/2019 "data-lightbox =" 08c5ed9ca624e387f462fd0b21313144.png ">
After a few laps we got the hang of it. Kills play a role, because they earn additional points in both game modes. However, it is much more important to concentrate on the central task. If a team works well together by traveling together and playing their classes right, a round can be quickly decided. We also made a comeback a long way behind, because all the players learned to put the team's success above their solo tours.
Of course, that pays off. At the end of each game, experience points are awarded, but not uniformly, but only for characters played. Likewise, new skills are unlocked for each character individually. Three of them can be used simultaneously to increase life energy or shorten the cooldown of certain abilities, among other things. Some fighters can climb on hoverboards, which can also be used to earn new models.
As part of the X019, Microsoft and Ninja Theory have confirmed March 24th, 2020 as the release date of Bleeding Edge.
Apart from understandable problems with the balance between the classes and characters, the technical quality was the main problem. Bleeding Edge relies on a mix of Cel shading style and future scenario with strong colors and contours. That looks good, but not outstanding. Nevertheless, our Xbox One S seemed overwhelmed with the presentation of a fluid and clean gameplay. During the rounds it jerked frequently, in addition there were blurred edges and background textures.
