Thanks to my ally holding on to an enormous range throw ability, Giant Swing, we were able to quickly win the match with one well-timed combo that ended in a ring-out. As they were momentarily splatted there, I added on extra stun with a weapon. I recognized this and knocked my opponent into a wall. This battle took place atop a building next to an open ocean, which spells death for any player that lands in it. And thanks to some ever-changing locales, matches rarely get stale as players are forced to recognize their surroundings and use them to their advantage.įor example, at the end of one duos match, a friend and I had to fight against one player. I found myself using actual fighting game tactics when in 1v1 situations, adding my Fortnite fundamentals in when exploring to make sure no one got the drop on me. It turns the experience into one of the most frantic in both genres it’s pulled from - and that complexity goes up tenfold when playing duos. series, the game is easy and simple but hard to master.ĭuring fights, I have to watch for my life bar, super bar, stamina bar, remember what’s in my inventory, watch my surroundings for third-party fighters, recognize my combo opportunities, react to rolls and attacks to punish and dodge, and more. For instance, if I know the final stage of battle will land near water, I might want to equip a swinging attack that lets me toss my foes out to sea. The secret to success is trying to plan for where the final phase of battle might take place and picking attacks that’ll be most effective in that setting. Like Fortnite, each of these specials is split into different rarities, green being the standard, blue being rare, and purple being epic. Meanwhile, vicious specials are unblockable command grabs that must be jumped, rolled, or struck out of. Strikes are physical attacks that can be blocked like sumo slaps and strong punches. The specials are split into two types: strike and vicious. In addition to that character building, there are special moves that can be learned by picking up and reading books. The effective twist is that players only have 10 stat boxes (eight in duos), so they’ll have to be thoughtful about what they pick up to create a specialized build. These pots include red ones that boost damage output, green pots that increase overall health, and yellow stamina pots which allow players to dodge and sprint more. After deciding where to drop, players search for protein-filled pots that raise various stats. Unlike its shooter-focused siblings in the genre, players don’t just equip themselves with loot they’re making a character instead.

As soon as they touch down, players are tasked with building their character and fighting it out melee style using rolls, shields, various items, and the environment around them. During matches, 20 players are thrown into a circle that changes closes in on the game’s map, Grapple City. Rumbleverse mixes the gameplay philosophies of fighting games and battle royales. A battle royale with the game plans, frame data, and all-around quirks of something like Street Fighter? Could it really be done well? Rumbleverse showed me that it can, albeit with a few growing pains of one genre trying to fit into another. Melee-focused games of this genre aren’t new, but one by an esteemed fighting game developer had nothing but promise from an outside perspective.

Rumbleverse xbox one