“Survive” aims to reinvent “League of Legends” for a new generation

If you have been playing PC video games for the past 20 years, chances are you're at least somewhat familiar with MOBAs. Short for “Multiplayer Online Battle Arena,” the strategy game subgenre has long been a staple of online gaming, LAN parties, and the esports community. If you they do not have play games like Dota 2 the I hityou might at least be familiar with a little game called Legion of Legendsthe mother of all MOBAs with an active player base of over 150 million makes it one of the most popular games on the planet.

The thing about MOBAs is that, since their inception as community mods for real-time strategy titles like Warcraft III and Starcraft in the early 2000s, they haven't changed that much. In most matches, two players or teams enter battle, choose their lane, and point-and-click their way to victory. There's a lot more to it than that, but for players who aren't fluent in the mechanics of the strategic battle arena, they're watching a game Legion of Legends — let alone playing one — can often feel confusing and, to some, somewhat archaic.

That's a mindset that developers at fledgling indie studio Theorycraft Games hope to change with their new free-to-play battle royale hero title. Supervise. With a team that includes industry veterans who have worked on games like League of Legends, Halo, Destiny, Overwatch, and braveits creators Supervise they bring their diverse experiences to the table to create the ultimate multiplayer gaming mashup that draws from nearly every modern competitive game in existence to reinvent the MOBA experience for modern sensibilities.

Recently, Rolling rock sat down with the developers for a playtest of an early build of the game (described as “pre-pre-alpha”) and learned the ropes of the genre's mashup mechanics within hours. This version of the game was clearly still a work in progress, but the developers confirmed that they are aiming for a “late 2024” release for the open beta, which will be available to everyone who signs up.

With that, here's everything we discovered during our time there Supervise.

What is Supervise?

Originally announced in June 2023 under the codename 'Project Loki', Supervise early testers of the game described it as “Legion of Legends meets Apex Legends meets Super Smash Bros.If that sounds like a mouthful, it is, but it also falls short of the vast array of familiar elements the game invokes. At its core, it's a top-down, team-based hero game where teams choose their hunters – characters with unique classes and abilities – to work together across an open map to take out both CPU-controlled enemies as well as other player-controlled teams.

Unlike traditional MOBAs, which pit one player or team against another, SuperviseIts main mode has 10 teams of four per online lobby (40 players total), all competing against each other and the environment to survive. The Hunter class system, coupled with the huge number of factions active across the map, is reminiscent of the popular first-person shooter. Apex Legends. The map itself is a sprawling maze of different areas with treasures to loot and new gear to stumble upon (a la Diablo). At the start of each round, teams are dropped into a zone of their choice, where a perpetual storm reigns over the map, controlling the arena and driving the contestants to pressure points for combat (such as Fortnite).

From moment to moment, players control their characters in real-time with keyboard and mouse, unlike other MOBAs where point-and-click controls are the norm, and a huge part of the gameplay comes from expertly traversing environment, jumping over gaps and dangerous traps, and engaging in shooting and hand-to-hand combat. There's even a glider that each character can use to make big moves across chasms, at the risk of being hit or running out of stamina (hello, Zelda). The ultimate goal is to complete the local objectives, run the map and eliminate all other teams within the 20 minute time limit. Other modes include shorter two-person team battles or faster, more direct battles in 4v4 deathmatches.

How does it play?

Considering how many influences Supervise folded into the core of the game, it would be easy to assume that it lacks originality. And yes, on the surface, the game looks like many of the major hero shooters and MOBAs on the market, but the customization of so many familiar elements is one of the game's greatest strengths. From the beginning of our playtest, we learned from a few developers at Theorycraft to learn the ropes in basic deathmatch. Opting for a missile launcher-based hunter, the first few minutes of the round quickly became a frenzy of gunfire, explosions and last-minute medics as testers began to move and attack.

The controls are easy enough for anyone who regularly plays with a keyboard, with directional movement mapped to the standard “WASD” keys and each character's special abilities mapped to ambient buttons. For players not familiar with keyboard controls, the game can feel a little overwhelming as the balance of movement, including precise jumping and glider transitions requires timely input at the risk of death. The inclusion of real-time shooting adds an extra layer where, unlike most PC-based strategy games, pointing to a key area and clicking has little effect.

In Supervise, accuracy is key as combat focuses less on area of ​​effect and more direct hits are lined up, similar to a typical shooter. Given its focus on quick reactions combined with platforming elements, it would be a surprise if exclusive gamepad controls weren't supported for the title's public beta or full release. Its systems may be better suited for controllers than keyboards overall.

At a glance, it's easy enough to see where the top-down shooting and looting plays out, but what's harder to glean is the hand-to-hand combat, specifically how Super Smash Bros. There are many elements. Many characters, such as the grappler classes, are built around close and personal combat. For example, the rocket launcher class we've mostly stuck with has an ultimate move that allows players to boost nearby enemies for a devastating punch that either KOs weaker classes or knocks them into walls or off the edges of the map. A key aspect that many players should remember is that using a glider to bridge gaps leaves them vulnerable to attack, with a single well-placed hit sending them into ravines for an instant death. Frustrating when it happens to you, but endlessly rewarding to perform on others, it's one of the strategies drawn directly from Smash Bros., where the term “Spiking” comes from. Anyone who has ruined a family game night as Donkey Kong will quickly understand what's going on.

Can it thrive?

In the pre-launch phase, the biggest question it faces Supervise is whether a game assembled from the most famous parts of a dozen other games can create its own space. Will a game with so many moving parts alienate mainstream audiences, or will the familiar pieces work together to create a perfect pick-up-and-play experience? After about three hours of play during our testing, it's still too early to tell. But Supervise it has a lot going for it.

In talking with the developers between the big objectives and firefights, it became apparent that the goal of the team at Theorycraft is to create an accessible multiplayer ecosystem that rewards a variety of playstyles. Many members of the team expressed frustration at the lack of evolution in MOBA games over the past 15 years or so. For newcomers, games like Dota the Link can be impenetrable, as the nature of real-time strategy and arena games means there are limited options to play with. Pick a hero, choose a lane and learn the best way to win. Rinse, repeat.

Here, the focus is less on rigid offensive or defensive measures and more on experimenting with the endlessly overlapping ways of changing the stakes of the game in real time. In one match, our team – outmatched by the might of the more brutish teams building around us – chose to build a spiked-walled home base where we could safely pick off anyone who approached from a distance. The plan worked for a while, before the storm approached, prompting us to try to transport before the final opposing team finished the round with a targeted nuke on our body complex. It was hilarious.

If his goal Supervise is to create these kinds of chaotic moments of perpetual improvisation, developers are on the right track. Unlike many of the bigger AAA studios, the Theorycraft team has chosen to rely more heavily on community playtesting than most, with tens of thousands of players pouring into the game in the pre-alpha stage to provide feedback.

After all, Supervise it will live and die by its ability to cultivate an engaged community. Whether the game overwhelms or manages to thread the needle by creating a low barrier to entry with a high skill cap remains to be seen. But as it stands, there's no other MOBA-like game out there right now that lets you “punch” an opponent on a moving train. And for this experience alone, everyone should give it a go.