Follow me, right here. Mere hours after first enjoying FBC: Firebreak, I discovered myself mouth-to-dough with a scrumptious cream cake. Sadly, as a result of I’m a careless bastard who can’t be trusted with something good, a dollop of that cream landed straight into my blood orange cocktail and melted into it. I stared on the swirling momentarily and located myself transported again into the halls of the Federal Bureau of Management as I fired white sizzling bursts of liquid into the glowing crimson enemies that stalk its hallways. It’s this type of twisted leap of logic {that a} journey to Treatment’s headquarters does to a mind.
Treatment is a studio with an eclectic library of video games – some are horror, others sci-fi or neo-noir detective fiction. However what I’ve at all times liked in regards to the Alan Wake and Max Payne developer is that it is unafraid to be foolish. Firebreak, the studio’s newest challenge and its first foray into each first-person capturing and co-op multiplayer motion, is very foolish. Over the course of a two-hour play session, I discovered time to each obliterate everybody round me with a murderous backyard gnome and wage warfare in opposition to a 30-foot-high sticky observe behemoth. All this was sufficient for me to be satisfied that if anybody can stand out within the crowded, usually very severe on-line shooter area, it is Treatment and its distinctive need to inject the bizarre into every thing it makes.
Set six years after the occasions of Treatment’s 2019 single-player hit, Management, Firebreak’s setting of The Oldest Home will probably be acquainted to those that performed via Jesse Faden’s story. Each the broad strokes and little touches stay, whether or not or not it’s the severity of its brutalist pillars and partitions or the Finnish folks music spilling out of its rest room audio system, making for a comforting, if barely uneasy, return. Firebreak duties squads with reentering this X-Information-like authorities constructing to take care of localised outbreaks of the Hiss, Management’s inter-dimensional menace that embodies residing and non-living entities alike. You, and as much as two teammates, are basically this universe’s Ghostbusters, simply armed with double-barreled shotguns as an alternative of proton packs. The twist, although, is that right here, crossing the streams is closely inspired.
Let me clarify. Outdoors of your commonplace arsenal of pistols and rifles, you’ll be able to choose from three completely different “kits”. Primarily Firebreak’s lessons, every equipment aids the staff in numerous methods, each offensively and defensively. The Repair Equipment, for instance, permits you to shortly mend machines akin to ammo stations and therapeutic showers (FBC staff prime up their HP by getting drenched with water – I did say this was all very foolish). The Splash Equipment, in the meantime, arms you with a hydro cannon that may each restore teammates’ well being bars and douse enemies in water. And at last, the Bounce Equipment comes with a short-range Electro-Kinetic Cost Impactor that may shock foes and cease them of their tracks. Every equipment has its particular person makes use of, however when mixed, they conjure up devastating outcomes – you’ll be able to seemingly already think about what sending a high-voltage bolt of electrical energy right into a soaking moist mob may obtain.
Teamwork and communication are key in Firebreak, then, as a result of though the entire sport is playable solo, it’s clear that the intention is for 3 gamers to return collectively, particularly when issues actually begin to get hectic. All of FBC: Firebreak’s missions (referred to as jobs) finally use the identical construction: get in, obtain your goals, after which return to the elevator you entered the extent in. My first task was easy: my staff needed to repair three defective warmth followers within the constructing’s furnace whereas coping with waves of enemies earlier than swiftly retreating again to the protection of the elevator.
However as I stated earlier, issues get hectic. Up subsequent was “Paper Chase”, a mission involving the destruction of hundreds of scattered sticky notes, and it was a wholly completely different expertise from our breezy fan upkeep job. Solely as soon as the goal variety of notes had been faraway from the workplace flooring and partitions might we exit the world and declare victory. The drawback was that hordes of Hiss would flip up at common intervals to halt our progress, and the notes themselves might connect themselves to us and inflict injury. By no means has the phrase “a dying by a thousand paper cuts” been extra applicable. The evil notes could possibly be destroyed by a easy melee assault, however they had been way more effectively disintegrated with a fast soak and spark – one other good use of Firebreak’s elemental equipment methods. That form of multiplayer synergy is supported by stable gunplay, so there’s at all times one thing you are able to do with out counting on one other participant. I shortly honed in on the machine gun as my device of destruction – I loved mowing down glowing crimson ghouls, which satisfyingly burst into the oily haze synonymous with Management.
The third mission happened in The Oldest Home’s Black Rock Quarry and required essentially the most teamwork of the bunch. Taking pictures squelchy leeches from the cavernous partitions grants you deadly radioactive pearls that should be contained in a shuttle. Safely locked up, these can then be moved alongside a monitor to deeper areas of the quarry. It was essentially the most difficult mission of the set, and actually did stress the necessity for good communication. The must take common bathe breaks to rinse off the radiation, droves of enemies, and instakill astral spike entities all hindered our progress. I did nonetheless handle to have enjoyable, even when it received extremely hectic at occasions.
Whereas I’m fairly glad by the mission goals, I do discover myself torn in the case of Firebreak’s strategy to map design. In Management, The Oldest Home was a devilish labyrinth of morphing corridors and secrets and techniques, however the map layouts listed below are easier. This is in all probability for the higher, as tighter, extra linear areas make for a kinder space to navigate in first-person (even when with no minimap me and my teammates nonetheless received often misplaced, regardless of their small measurement). However I do really feel just like the Federal Bureau of Management’s headquarters has misplaced a few of its unpredictable appeal in consequence. Don’t essentially go in right here anticipating one thing as wondrous because the Ashtray Maze, for instance. As an alternative you’ll discover less complicated, extra grounded environment.
These missions could sound simple, however after finishing them you unlock clearance ranges for every, which add additional goals and end in a lot lengthier excursions. The maps open up on subsequent revisits, including additional chambers of exercise in addition to extra advanced goals and foes. Identical to in Management, bosses gate your progress via sure areas, successfully inflicting a lockdown. These vary from bullet sponges with drastically bigger well being bars to extra fascinating beasts like an enormous sticky observe monstrosity that slammed my staff with its big yellow fists. I discovered the latter way more thrilling, as taking it down required the weather of communication and teamwork that I get pleasure from in co-op shooters. Half puzzle boss, half injury dealing, it jogged my memory of the ultimate stretches of a few of Area Marine 2’s expeditions, the place your brawn and shooter expertise should often make method for pockets of brainwork.
These monsters made out of on a regular basis objects are a few of my favorite components of Management, so I am glad to see a few of that weirdness make its method over right here. This is additional explored via randomly spawning corrupted gadgets, none of which I sadly noticed throughout my playtime, however they continue to be a tantalising prospect (a rubber duck that may redirect all enemies your away so others can deal with goals did spawn, however attributable to its small measurement none of us discovered it – an unlucky occasion of readability that the event staff assured us they’re trying into fixing earlier than launch). One other merchandise detailed to me was a big set of site visitors lights, the place being caught in its crimson gaze may end up in a heavy quantity of harm coming your method, which successfully brings a touch of Squid Recreation color to the in any other case gray brutalist environment.
It is these unreal Treatment prospers that give Firebreak an opportunity to face out from the group. They’re additional explored in your loadouts, too; finishing missions grants you unlock tokens that can be utilized to accumulate suitably zany new instruments. These embody final talents such because the Splash Equipment’s Teapot that burns up any enemy unlucky sufficient to collide with its superheated globules. Then there’s the Bounce Equipment’s erratic backyard gnome, which conjures up a damaging electrical storm that strikes anybody in its zone. That capacity, specifically, ensured chaos usually reigned throughout my time with Firebreak. More often than not it is good enjoyable, with swarms of enemies destroyed via chaotic scrambling and juggling of talents. Generally, although, there’s simply an excessive amount of happening on display screen and all of it turns into a bit indecipherable.
There are sturdy foundations right here, however my small variety of issues all boil all the way down to readability. Generally it’s unclear the place you ought to be heading on the maps. Different occasions it’s understanding how you can keep away from hosing your allies down with pleasant hearth injury, or choosing out who precisely the boss is amidst a horde. There’s merely quite a bit happening right here, and with bursts of color popping off in all places, it may be a bit overwhelming when making an attempt to play tactically and exactly. This is a priority I’m assured that the Firebreak devs are nicely conscious of, although, they usually plan to make energetic enhancements to the shooter’s total readability earlier than its June 17 launch.
Firebreak will characteristic 5 jobs at launch, with two extra promised earlier than the top of 2025. That won’t seem to be very many, however sport director Mike Kayatta tells me that Treatment considers them “extra like sport modes” than missions. I can see that, with every providing replayability and depth attributable to their a number of clearance ranges and evolving goals. Mixed with the truth that it would price $39.99 / €39.99 / £32.99 (in addition to being included on each Recreation Move and PlayStation Plus), I feel there’s sufficient worth in right here to maintain each Management veterans and new followers in search of a enjoyable shooter entertained for a lot of hours.
The at all times on-line co-op shooter street is a frightening one for any developer to decide on to stroll proper now. However after enjoying Firebreak, I’m assured that there’s a powerful basis right here, and when mixed with injections of Treatment’s distinctive quirky character I feel it might probably carve its personal area of interest within the area. Very like that dollop of cream carved its personal area in my cocktail. I nonetheless drank all of it.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can primarily be discovered skulking round open world video games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing on the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Observe him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.