Games of Glory Open Beta Experience
I played Games of Glory for a second session this week! The first time was the PS4 closed beta, where I had some serious issues communicating with other players, since every club in the game appeared French. That wasn’t a negative, not a knock on the game. But it definitely made things a bit harder. Games of Glory takes a lot of things from other MOBAs and puts them together into a really nice package. It gives us a reason for these people to be fighting: For Glory! They’re clones too, which helps explain the constant deaths. It might seem like a little thing, but I do appreciate that kind of attention to detail. I appreciate that you don’t have to spend money to get characters, you can farm them. Sure you can spend money, and I believe all cosmetics do cost money. I prefer to see an option to get them without money, but that’s not a big deal. That’s not what we’re here to discuss! We’re here for me to get my thoughts on this twin-stick MOBA out there on the Internet. The Synarchy is pulling Clubs from across the universe to do battle for their entertainment, for the entertainment of many, in the Games of Glory. And you know something? It’s a MOBA with cross-play! Yes, you can play on PS4 with your PC buddies and vice versa!
This is a game that’s practically built for competition. Even the bot matches you play at low level are called Ranked. This is a high-octane, fast-paced video game, practically built for eSports/competitive gameplay. However… there aren’t many modes just yet. Spectator not in yet either. It plays like a MOBA, but without the waves of minions marching to their deaths constantly. Instead, they only appear when the choke points’ doors close. What does that mean? Well, let’s get into what makes this a pretty unique MOBA. You have a series of points on the middle of the map, and capturing three of them lowers the shield the enemy base has. You can’t push their towers until those go down. It takes time, and it takes teamwork. You get enough of those points on either side, the doors to those areas close, and you kill the enemies that spawn in there. Once you finally get their shield to zero, the next phase begins! Now this doesn’t mean that you get an army of minions finally. You have to siege the towers yourself. Going in solo means you’ll probably die, so it’s time for more teamwork! Downside to this, I haven’t seen a way to chat with your party yet, outside of using a chat app like Discord, Skype, etc. Another downside: Can’t do that with PS4 users! So unless they are instituting a voice chat, you’re out of luck. You get the towers down, defeat the base, and you win! There’s a nice, constant chatter from the announcers, which makes me feel pretty good, like it’s really a TV show.
It’s got an item system too, but it’s a very very simple one. You have a melee and ranged weapon – that’s it. But you have a variety of types of them. You only have two melee’ weapons right now, one fit for a tank, one fit for a Scout. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have them on a tank or carry! I usually use a melee weapon no matter what. You run out of bullets and have to reload, while someone’s chasing you? Swap to melee’ and get in there! But there are quite a few different guns, from shotguns for tanks, assault rifles for carries, etc. But I wouldn’t feel like you have to only use what your class uses. Pick what’s right for you, what gun appeals to you. Conversely… I try to stick to what my class uses [I lean towards tanks, so it’s shotguns for me]! As you get kills, score points, and as time passes, you upgrade that gun, tier by tier. Once you max it out, you can get parts for the gun – each tier has a choice. By the time the game is over, even if you’re losing, you can upgrade your gun or melee to what you want it to be. But if you’re winning you can probably upgrade both.
Speaking of upgrades though, one of the things that I dunno.. I don’t hate it, but I’m not really wild about, is you can only start with one ability from the get-go. Each level you can upgrade one, and eventually you get your ultimate ability. This is not a game that features auto-attacks or guaranteed hits though. You have a trigger for your gun/melee weapon, but you have to be aiming in that direction. Besides that, they have to be in range/aimed nice and close. This is an incredibly skill-based game, which I do love. I don’t like games where you don’t need to try to get kills or get damage. Each gun handles differently, so get what you need, don’t try to be fancy or experiment until you’re good! Keep it simple.
However, I’m not so crazy about the controls. Playing on PS4, controls are pretty good, but syncing a PS4 controller up to my PS4 was kind of nitpicky. If the queue took too long and my controller powered down due to being idle, I had to unpair it, re-pair it, and close the game/relog. That was absolutely infuriating in the middle of a match. This is a twin-stick game though. Your right stick is what aims your abilities/guns, and it can be a little frustrating when your opponent gets behind you and you have to re-aim. But that’s the nature of being skilled, and having fast reflexes/high dpi mouse/a decent controller. I have a feeling it’ll be better with a wired controller on PC. In general, the feel of the game was better on PS4 than it was on PC as far as the responsiveness of my controller went. Keyboard controls were pretty solid, but playing on an ergonomic keyboard was a nightmare. Glad to have a new Corsair under my fingers now. But this is a game that needs a controller in my humble opinion.
What’s the Goal?
Conclusion: Great (4/5)
While I do enjoy this quite a lot, I do have a few very minor complaints though. There doesn’t feel like there’s much in the way of balance yet. Some characters are definitely better than others, and I didn’t feel like, as a tank, that I brought much to a fight. Some of the powers didn’t make sense to me, or were pretty damn hard to land. The Assault Rifle is the obvious choice if you want to win games, the damage on it, paired with a decent damage character… well, the results will speak for themselves. Instead of videos for the tutorial though, I’d really rather have actual tutorials. I feel like this is a game that you need to do, not see. It didn’t always feel very clear to me what I should be doing at any given moment, and not being able to really communicate with my team hurt. This is a game where communication is absolutely key. I love the concept of the game though! It’s a fresh, new way to play a MOBA, and while I do sort of feel like it is trying too hard to be special and stand out, a bit more direction, clarity, and balance? This is definitely going to be a fantastic, skill-based game where only the strong survive. Where those capable of utilizing teamwork will gain glory!
However, I do feel like the developers are listening, and working hard to make it as good as possible. It’s going to be a big deal, but it’s got to have dedicated players working on it, finding issues, positives, negatives for the developers to work out. But what makes this game wonderful? The combat. Oh man, the combat’s crazy! Once you get used to the controls, and get some practice in the training grounds, you’ll be obliterating clones in no time. Keep an eye on Games of Glory; it’s gonna be a hit, I can just feel it.
Games of Glory Open Beta Review Gallery
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