This Singaporean Battle Royale Shooter Challenges Fortnite and Overwatch
Singaporean publisher Miracle Games and their Chinese partner Lilith Games have huge plans. With the hero-based battle royale shooter Farlight 84, they want to tackle two heavyweights of the genre at once, namely Overwatch and (!) Fortnite. As a connoisseur of the Southeast Asian gaming world, one, of course, pays attention to such a declaration of war: is it going to be a classic flop or are we actually awaiting a serious roar coming from the City of Lions?
The newly released announcement trailer already starts boastful: In typical Blizzard CG we are introduced to the post-apocalyptic world of Farlight 84, in which comic characters don’t only shoot bullets but also witty one-liners at zombies and enemy players. We have seen this before, but you at least get the impression that Miracle Games wants to combine the best of all shooter worlds in one game.
That last-man-standing feeling of the battle royale genre combined with the unique characteristics of a hero shooter. That doesn’t sound too bad, especially since the whole thing is really nice to look at, and with up to 40 players per game, it also has the breadth necessary for chaotic mass battles. In addition to its third-person shooter gameplay, the game even promises to feature motorized means of transportation such as multi-legged vehicles, jetpacks, and bouncing boards. However, an energy system should ensure that the use of vehicles is not overused.
In addition to the typical weapon crafting or the certainly diverse personalization options (are there loot boxes looming on the horizon?), you should also receive raw materials in the matches with which you can build so-called “refuges”, a place where you can then hang out with other players. Cool, housing is also part of it.
So what is still missing for a true MMO mega-hit? Ultimately, the performance, the balancing, and also the interest of the players will determine whether Farlight 84 can have a piece of the cake. So far there are simply too many ambiguities, such as – for example – the financing model. Whereas it can be assumed that a Free-2-Play model, common in the genre, will also be used here.
Admittedly, this is a big chunk for Miracle Games, a publishing studio that was only founded recently in 2020. The future will show whether Farlight 84 can live up to its role models, both developed by huge AAA studios. We might know more quite soon as the game is scheduled to enter Early Access on the PC as well as on the mobile platforms Android and iOS already in 2021.
