What’s the hot new game genre that people across the globe are crazy excited about? Why, MOBAs, of course! The sheer amount of people playing games like DotA2 and League of Legends is staggering – as is the money and stream views these titles bring in! Yes, MOBAs are a hot ticket in gaming these days… but so far, the market’s been completely dominated by the two games I just mentioned above.
Enter a new challenger – Microsoft and developer Motiga’s Gigantic, a visually striking hybrid of MOBA and FPS for Xbox One and Windows 10. Rather than the isometric-view, lane-driven combat of most well-known MOBAs, Gigantic is all about five-on-five third person action. While it might not be the first MOBA with this perspective (that honor goes to Hi Rez Studio’s Smite, which is also coming to Xbox One), it’s certainly the most unique MOBA we’ve yet seen.
The first thing that strikes you about Gigantic is just how colorful it is. Not in a typical “light bloom everywhere” sense, either – the game is built of big, bright cel-shaded arenas and outrageously designed characters that really stand out from the pack. The attack effects and character animations also contribute to the game’s strong sense of personality. Speaking of personality… if one had to wager a guess, the word Gigantic in the title likely refers to the game’s “Guardians.” These are the massive creatures that lord over each of the two combating teams. In the E3 demo, these were a fierce-looking dragon and a rather tubby (but no less intimidating) gryphon, though we’re told more guardians will be in the final product. The guardians are the ones that grant your team power and resurrect you when you fall - and they’re also the beings you’re tasked with protecting.
Upon starting a game, you will pick one of many different heroes to play as. The Motiga crew has gone to great lengths to accommodate a huge variety of playstyle preferences. The fighters are as varied visually as they are in abilities: Tyto the Swift is a strange luchador/ninja hybrid who dazzles with swift, acrobatic skills (and a pet ferret), the wolf-deer Voden combines ranged fighting with healing skills, and the sultry, be-tentacled Xenobia bestows curses that leave all debilitated, and so on. As you level during the fight, you can gain upgraded basic skills by means of skill trees.
The game controls akin to thirdperson shooters, with separate setups for controller and keyboard and mouse. (If you are a console purist and don’t feel comfortable being matched up against the PC crowd with their fancy laser mice and mechanical keyboards, worry not – you’ll be able to opt to only battle with other console players.) The goal is pretty cut-and-dry: protect your Guardian and take down the one on the opposing team.
Numerous points on the game map are marked: these are Summoning Circles. When activated, they generate energy that your team’s Guardian feeds upon. Gaining map control is a key part of the game, so grabbing Summoning Circles early on – and taking control of enemy Summoning Circles – is crucial. True to their name, you can also use them to summon up to three creatures to the battlefield. These creatures bestow various beneficial effects to your team: for example, Bloomers will provide healing skills, while Cerberuses act as scouts that let you see enemy positions. These creatures can be upgraded to be more powerful over time. They’ll also vigorously defend any circle they’ve been summoned to against enemy attacks.
For the most part, the Guardians are content to sit in their place on the battlefield. While they might seem like easy targets, they can swat you away like gnats should you approach them unprepared. Even if you can hit them, you’ll discover that your puny little hero is incapable of actually damaging the Guardian: the only thing that can knock them down is your own Guardian, by means of a rampage powered by the Summoning Circles you have activated and the opposing team members you have felled. After your Guardian attacks, the opposing team’s Guardian has its heart exposed for a precious few seconds: only during this time can you actually deal any damage to the creature. Wounding the guardian in this state will take off a chunk of its life, and when it has been wounded three times, the match is won.
Of course, even when a Guardian is a sitting duck, those aiming to protect it certainly aren’t. Getting a knockdown on an opposing team’s Guardian doesn’t mean squat if you can’t actually damage it, which is where defensive tec° iques come into play. It’s pretty obvious when one Guardian goes to attack another – seeing a five-story creature zoom across the battlefield raining destruction in its wake is something that’s a bit hard to miss – so when you know your big guy is taking a hit, it’s time to get all hands on deck to protect them from harm. Success in Gigantic is achieved through a combination of careful map control, strong offense, and coordinated defense when the need arises.
Both Microsoft and Motiga have big hopes for Gigantic, and are already working to cultivate a player community for the game’s launch. It’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting genre hybrid – one that looks gorgeous, to boot – but whether or not Gigantic will catch on in the increasingly crowded MOBA market is yet to be seen. Gigantic will be free to download and play, with optional paid premium content available. While the game is set for release late this year, Xbox One and Steam players will be able to enjoy a beta sometime this August.