Fate Trigger preview - "No one survives a battle royale alone!"
As much as some of us are unwilling to admit it (not naming any names), Fortnite set the precedent for a kind of experience that remains quite successful. The battle royale genre remains the most popular, with Fortnite and PUBG, which are similar yet different in their own ways. However, as serious as the concept of a battle royale is, it has achieved considerable success in making it a fun and engaging experience, thanks to its colourful characters, environments, and various events that change the tone and content in different ways.
Saroasis Studios wants to come out of the gate swinging, or in this case, shooting, with their take, Fate Trigger. It's a 3D battle royale third-person shooter where you must use your abilities and resourcefulness to be one of the last anime crushes standing.
What is it all about?
Whenever anything remotely anime is involved, you can bet that there's going to be some convoluted and complex story to go along with it. However, Fate Trigger may break the mould, in this case. It's almost too straightforward and ends up being suspicious. The story is set in an unknown future on a world that may or may not be a part of our universe. In this world, there are chosen warriors with supernatural and superhuman abilities, known as Awakeners. These Awakeners have a mission to explore the world and uncover all its secrets, while trying to survive a deadly force known as the Pale Blight. And how are they supposed to find these secrets? By shooting everyone who's trying to shoot them, so that they can live long enough to explore. Obviously.
The pull of Fate Trigger
At this point, a battle royale may seem out of place with current trends, and so anyone trying to break into the genre needs to try hard. Fate Trigger is doing things that make it a contender that will help it stick around as an enjoyable and competitive option. The main draw is the Awakeners themselves. They're modelled after the Heroes mechanic so that each one gets special abilities that they can utilise for themselves, teammates, or to affect the environment. Because of that, they also fall into one of the established roles of team-based games, including Support and Defense. It's designed to encourage teamwork for a more community-based competition, but there's also room for individuals to shine.
Next is the pacing of it all. Despite all the anime visuals and designs, Fate Trigger is surprisingly light in terms of lore and mechanics. You don't have to worry about fiddling with millions of little items across spreadsheet UIs while exploring the danger zone. The system is streamlined to automatically let you pick up any gear or items that you don't have or that are superior to the ones you already have. This saves a significant amount of time in scenarios where you must constantly move to avoid death. It also means that it highlights the importance of mastering your Awakener's chosen abilities so that you can use them at the right moments.
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Finally, there's the overall tone. Even though battle royales are meant to be severe and harsh, this one aims to make it much lighter, appealing to a broader audience. This is particularly evident in features like the respawn system, which is somewhat uncommon in standard battle royale modes. You have multiple chances to fall before being eliminated, which is encouraging to newer and struggling players. The Awakener abilities also give you options when you suddenly come under fire to protect yourself, counterattack, or retreat. No longer do you have to hope that there's a bush or building whenever chaos descends upon you.
With the premise of a preview and an early launch, several factors must be considered regarding the current state of affairs. Fate Trigger is undoubtedly in a playable state and able to support a fair number of players, but certain elements could benefit from another slide across the design table. The most obvious one is the lack of Awakeners, of which there are currently 10, and over half of those are assault-based. Since this is meant to be one of the main draws, we can only hope that more Awakeners are going to be introduced, and more roles along with them.
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Then there's the quality difference between the models and the environment. The Awakener and gear models are pretty clean and detailed, but they contrast with the world they populate. The maps are large, but everything from the ground to the vehicles seems to be on a similar level of visual quality. Certain areas lack depth, and at other times, the lack of detail and shadow makes it feel like they aren't even there. This is especially true for vehicles that sometimes appear to float above the map, which may explain the loose driving mechanics.
Speaking of controls, there's a technical issue. Although the game supports and incorporates a controller, it was designed with the expectation that the majority of players would use a mouse and keyboard. Even though there's plenty of evidence claiming that those controls are superior, many people prefer the comfort and familiarity of a gamepad, and so the mechanics should accommodate them. In its current state, using a gamepad feels clunky, sluggish, and awkward.
Getting a grip on Fate Trigger
Fate Trigger is a 3D battle royale team-based third-person shooter that gives you a selection of distinct Heroes to take into battle. It's a much more colourful and faster take on the genre with far more options when it comes to exploration, combat, survival, and support. Things are functional, but the gamepad could use some improvement, along with tweaking the details of the environments and their objects. As we look forward to more Awakeners to try out in the field, we must accept the fact that we are all following the whims of fate… trigger.
