The world of Rebel Moon is getting a little bigger. Not with another film justunfortunately, but with a new mobile game from Netflix Games. The new game is called Rebel Moon: Bloodlineand while Netflix announced over a year ago that the game was in developmentWe didn’t get to see the team-based action game for the first time until the Geeked Week presentation on Thursday.
Netflix’s Geeked Week presentation showed some gameplay from Bloodlinealong with a few words from the developers at Super Evil Megacorp. The trailer also showed off some footage, including the top-down gunplay that makes up most of the core gameplay loop.
Before the Netflix event, Polygon had the opportunity to take a look at some of the Rebel Moon: Bloodlineand chat with the developers about what it was like tackling a video game project in this original science fiction world.
The game is set in the Rebel Moon universe but is largely independent of the plot of Zack Snyder’s films. The idea for the game came about shortly after the film was developed, the team says, when Snyder and the crew handed over scripts and other world-building materials to Super Evil Megacorp and the team was able to let their ideas for expanding the world run wild. The path they chose involved diving into a new section of the universe and expanding on some factions of the Empire and Rebellion that we see briefly in the films but don’t get much backstory on. The game takes place on a planet called Krypt, where you help the rebel faction fight back against the overwhelming power of the Empire.
Photo: Clay Enos/Netflix
Although its status as a mobile companion game to a blockbuster film series may still come with some drawbacks, Rebel Moon: BloodlineThe gameplay is surprisingly deep and entertaining. Similar to other short mission games like Hell Diver (which the team definitely cited as inspiration), the game starts players (up to four in a squad) at the Rebels’ home base, where you can run around and edit your gear, customize your appearance, find out a few details about the story and the larger Rebel Moon universe, or select missions.
The missions we played were short, little skirmishes that lasted around 5-15 minutes each. They were fast-paced and tasked us with completing a variety of unique objectives while wave after wave of enemies ambushed us from all sides. While the easiest level we played didn’t feel too difficult, the num ber of enemies increased as the difficulty increased until it became a bit of a challenge (and a lot more fun). All of this was greatly enhanced by the game’s unique classes.
The game can be played solo, but it really gets good when you play with a full squad, especially if each of you takes on a different class. The game features four unique classes, but it’s easier to think of them in the traditional roles they might fill in other games: Bannerguard is the tank, Evoker is the healer, Kindred is the bow-wielding ranged DPS, and Forsaken is the stealthy, fast melee DPS option. Each class has a variety of unique abilities that work well together, including crowd control for the Kindred, a taunt for the Bannerguard, and a few high-damage, fast-repositioning abilities for the Forsaken. It’s easy to see how the higher difficulty levels could really make these skills shine – for example, by making it even more important for the Bannerguard to take aggro from the many enemies on screen and receive healing from the Evoker – so the rest of the squad can deal damage without worrying about taking damage themselves.
Image: Netflix
Each of these classes also has a huge selection of upgrades that can be earned, either through in-game currency obtained through missions or by leveling up each class. These upgrades seemed interesting and seem to be Super Evil Megacorp’s main incentive to keep people playing the game, but in our short demo we didn’t get a chance to really dive into the details or find out how much they really change the core gameplay.
Another thing we didn’t quite get in the demo was how much this game delves into the larger world of Rebel Moon. While the original versions of the film don’t show this particularly well, the director’s cuts showed that the world of Rebel Moon (best described as a mashup of Warhammer 40K and Star Wars) is fascinating and full of weird, damn cool stories. An action RPG like Rebel Moon: Bloodline seems like the perfect place to show off all the crazy details that make up this world, but in the gameplay snippet we experienced, they were barely noticeable.
Super Evil Megacorp made it clear that the game was only in alpha at the moment and that the classes and gameplay weren’t finalized yet. This part felt great. Of course, only time will tell how much the game appeals to players or if the mobile platform will hold it back as the levels get more difficult, but for now it seems to be off to a pretty promising start – and it could at least be a great tide over until the conclusion of the film trilogy arrives.
Rebel Moon: Bloodline doesn’t have a release date yet, but there will be a beta in the near future. When it’s released, the game will be available to download by anyone with a Netflix subscription and a supported device to play on.
