A Eulogy to Battleborn, A Video Game
- Benjamin Wiebe
- Dec 3, 2019
- 8 min read
Updated: Jan 23, 2021
I know what you are thinking: This is a film analysis blog, so why are you posting about some hero shooter game from 2016 that I never heard of? And honestly, I don't have a logical reason. In all honesty, this is an impulse decision. I want to talk about Inception, but in light of recent news about this Game I poured my soul into, I wanted to take a moment to talk about it.
Battleborn is the Hero Shooter that launched May 3, 2016, 3 weeks before the Launch of Blizzard Entertainments Hero Shooter, Overwatch. Being of the same genre from the surface level, most people thought nothing of Battleborn, and it quickly lost a playerbase. That said, it wasn't a dead game. The Game was full of Colour and fun and interesting Characters akin to a Marvel movie. The primary Gamemodes where more like a MOBA, (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) than that of a shooter, and there was always a focus on being a team. From the 30 minute match times to the engrossing co-op story mode, the game had something for everyone. It contained classic Gearbox humour, with bleeped out swear words and a lighthearted spirit.
However, the game was built with a complete reliance on servers. Due to character progression and random loot drops, the game could never work client side, or there would be cheating. So, when the playerbase began to fall, and never stopped falling, Gearbox began pulling resources away. The last update was February 27, 2018. And now, after a month of server issues, Gearbox announced that they are pulling the plug on Battleborn January of 2021.
In Response to this, I am writing this post. I want to Highlight the Fun I had with this game, and why I think it is worthy of being apart of our culture.
The Splashscreen for Battleborn at Launch showed the Massive cast for the game, in a movie poster-esque way you'd expect the next Avengers Movie to do.
Battleborn is the best Superhero crossover game of our time. Everyone is quirky in some way, whether being the super sassy Melka, the Cowardly Kleese, the Revenge Driven Issac, or the hillariously inept Oscar Mike. These Characters are the soul of the game, and they alone are the reason I love this game, even when the PvP Meta is solely Stun based, which it has been since early 2017. The Story is high stakes, but like a marvel movie, you know that they are going to save the Day. The Teamwork in Battleborn is built around Synergy. Characters combo with each other, and can be specialized to do a task in the battle or mission. That's what makes Battleborn so special. It felt alive.
The beautiful, vibrant colours and the Character Design all say something about the game: Anyone can play this game, anyone can find a place here. That is the story of Battleborn, that a rag tag, group of people can join together to fight for each something greater, and even if they lost, that they fought for each other. This is the draw of Battleborn, and why its important. Its about overcoming stereotypes, overcoming barriers that prevent us from seeing in the eyes of others.
A taste of the colourful landscape of the incursion map Overgrowth, with a gorgeous colour palate and contrast for our Hero, Toby, a Penguin Operated Mech Suit.
The Game has 5 factions, each with different goals and a slew of characters with unique characteristics. Theres the Nature loving Eldrid, the military based UPR, the Entrepreneurial LLC, the deathly loyal Jennerit, and the renegade Rouges. These groups are at each others throats throughout the campaign and PvP through the story and unique character dialogue, and yet, by the end of the campaign, they learn to grow with, and value, each other. Its very.... fascinating seeing a video game take this message in such a fun and upbeat, gearbox way, where it says this theme so clearly in a time when our culture seems so intent on building barriers and generalizing others as someone not to be associated with. In a gearbox way, its the ultimate metaphor for video games, where you join a group of random people you don't know, and work together to accomplish a goal and begin to respect those apart of the group. I think the Battleborn Forums really highlight this, from seeing some of the wackier role playing threads by HandsomeCam and Benedict_87, to the competitive threads where people discuss the Meta and give insight on how to play certain characters. Its a special community, and Battleborn facilitates this flawlessly.
Battleborn does this through a few key things: Firstly, it offers co-operative Campaign Missions. All the Story missions are made with the ability to do them as a group of 3 people, and it allows the group to hunt for loot, play the story and find cool new ways to play each hero. The Multiplayer gameplay is built with a focus on communication, from wave clearing objectives with multiply spawn locations, to the shard system and buildable turrets, and even to the coolest part, the hero leveling system. Communicating with the team who is going to do what is what allows you to get through the missions on Advanced Hardcore difficulty, and to score platinum on the missions.
The Combinations of Battleborn that can work together in missions and PvP are astounding. Seen here is Whiskey Foxtrot (left), Kelvin (middle) and Shayne and Aurox (Right). These all have synergies together which make advanced and hardcore missions possible.
But there are easier modes for more casual players who just want to get the characters, find loot, and chat with there friends in the group before heading to the PvP modes. And the PvP modes are built with multiple objectives which encourage communication for who is doing what. But the Objectives are all unique and different, to allow any playstyle. This isn't like overwatch, where raw aim mechanics are needed 98% of the time to have a fun PvP experience. Instead, if you like battling big targets, you can recruit thralls, and if you like fighting many weaker enemies you can fight minions and control the lanes. If you like building turrets and being a general nuisance, you can go shard farming, and thats just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much flexibility in what you can do, and it makes PvP feel inclusive for anyone. And if you play with a mic, it can make the game feel even stronger.
And finally, with the inclusion of Local split-screen, you can LITERALLY play with your friends and have an absolute blast. This Local Split-screen enhances all the feelings of working together, and while you may not be strangers to each other, the moments when you pull off a multi-kill with your best friend next to you, or accidentally jump off a cliff in a parkour puzzle and need your friend to resurrect you (and when they decide to laugh and taunt you instead for 20 seconds) are amazing.
The Last hero added, Beatrix, taunting in a truly terrifying way.
But what about the Heroes themselves? I said that they where the lifeblood of the game, and I have barely talked about them. Well, due to the unique playstyles each hero has, you really can get in the zone with a hero, and start feeling like that hero after a few matches. This is achieved in a few ways. For one, there is a taunt system, which is just beautiful, and while it is a risk, knowing that you are taunting the person that you just killed makes it all the sweeter. Especially if you finally get revenge for the multiple times that they have killed you in a match. It makes the rivalries feel real, and due to the unique dialogue, it can get you into the headspace of the hero you are playing. And this is just a quirk of the game.
The second major thing that Battleborn does is have leveling for each hero, and a Talent tree (Helix) that allows you to pick skills throughout the match. As you level up, you pick 1 of 2 (or occasionally 3) skills, which can drastically change the way you play a hero. There also tends to be synergy throughout the helix tree, which allows you to theorize and try out many different playstyles for each character. This "leveling" system pulls you into a character, and can make playing a hero seem like a weird science experiment of "what if I did that...". Its engrossing, and makes the heroes seem even more alive since you can feel yourself changing how you play to compliment the hero you created. Its... special. This feeling of making something cool, and getting better at playing this character is the driving force of Battleborn.
The Helix tree for the Generic soldier Oscar Mike. Choosing between these 2 options opens and defines different playstyles, from a sneaky playstyle utilising stealth to get behind enemy lines, or the impact trigger to make the grenade ability snappy. Its all your choice.
There are some extremely high skill cap characters. Melka, one of my favourites, is one of these heroes. She's increadibly sassy, and constantly pissed off, and the skill ceiling for Melka was super high. Her abilities where mobility based, and her short range gun has toxic grenades it shoots when reloading. Melka is an "in your face" tiny assassin, whom hits you and runs away, never to be seen again. This high mobility playstyle is heavily complimented by the talent tree, which gives buffs to her toxin, "venom" while providing some health and mobility. I haven't played Melka in a while, but I remember this playstyle clear as day. Its ingrained in me, because I became Melka and was one with this Irritated Eldrid for Days. However, this playstyle has quite a high skill floor to get into. Melka has the second lowest health pool in the game, and can be shut down with any Crowd control, and received a nerf to her Venom. This was supposed to be followed by a rework, but, well, the game lost its developing team, and as such, The Melka I loved is a memory of the Past. (Though, Caldarius definitely fills this role nowadays.)
Thats not to say all of the heroes in this game are terrible; rather, most of them are very good. They feel balanced, and the variety is enough that anyone could get into Battleborn. They are all unique, and you can fall in love with any of them. Thats why Battleborn is special. Even though Melka may not be the same, I found other characters to play and master, like Deande, Thorn, and Shayne and Aurox. These all play extremely differently, and are fun to master. Battleborn offers so much depth, and in a game about overcoming boundaries, its got a host of characters that feel distinct and alive, and anyone can find a character they love and learn to overcome the boundaries of a learning curve to have an extremely fun time.
If this Doesn't scream Avengers to you, I don't know what does.
Its sad that although Battleborn will not be shut down till January 2021, you will be unable to download this game from any online store. The Publisher, 2K, pulled the game from all digital storefronts as of November 25, 2019. I guess this makes my post a eulogy. But for anyone that can find a digital version of Battleborn, whether from EB Games for 10$ or from a friend, give this game a shot. Its also in stock on Amazon on PC, PS4, and Xbox 1, for less than 20$. Seriously, pick up a copy, and play this game. I heartily recommend this experience, and I am heartbroken to see it go.
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