In the question of whether Battle Royales can sustain or MOBAs will return to reign in esports, Crystalized Games asks, “why not both?” The studio has entered Early Access on Steam with Relic Raiders, a free-to-play game which blends the strategic top-down style and strategy of MOBA with fast-paced action gameplay and fight-to-the-last conventions of Battle Royale. Between the various characters, the abilities and power-ups, and the hectic combat, it’s a game that could bring an interesting spin to the competitive landscape.
Relic Raiders’ Battlefield
A typical Relic Raiders match plays out on a series of hexagons featuring a variety of terrain. Players travel around the map, collecting power-ups and fighting one another as the hexagons slowly fall off at the edges, making the battlefield smaller and smaller. Power-ups can grant speed, health, and even put up walls that lock enemies into hexagons, whether you want to escape or build a deadly arena.
The terrain is very vertical with plenty of jumping and dodging to be had as players jump from hex to hex netting kills and trying to stay alive. At the moment, the game only features free-for-all battle royale play, but a team mode is on the way, offering even more opportunities for strategic combat and battle.
The Raiders & Their Arsenal
MOBAs are often punctuated by their wealth of characters and the abilities they have. Relic Raiders is no exception. The game features a good group of characters that fill a number of niches between long range and close combat, each with three abilities a piece to further differentiate their skill set and cater to various playstyles. Our favorite is easily the bear with the cybernetics named Chuck who can fling rocks, tackle and maul players, and roar to empower his attacks. The characters can be earned through points and further customized through purchasable in-game cosmetic skins, taunts, and more.
The 6 characters currently available at this time of writing make up a decent mix, but there are many more characters on the way from Crystalized, who aims to bring the roster up to 12 in the future. As players feel out their favorites and metas arise, there will surely be plenty of balancing and tweaks to go around as well as the game works its way through Early Access.
Relic Raiders is in Early Access and as with any game of the sort, there will probably be some growing pains, but it has an interesting foundation that seems like it could be built for some awesome competitive play. Players who’ve jumped in so far seem to enjoy the game and we certainly had our share of fun as well. Moreover, Crystalized Games seems to be taking a solid approach to free-to-play monetization where cosmetics can be bought, but characters don’t have to. It will be interesting to see how this game grows, and hopefully a scene will grow with it.
Want to learn more about Relic Raiders? Be sure to check out the game’s official website.
If you want to jump into the action, be sure to check out Relic Raiders on Steam.
