So Battleborn is $15 (2K HumbleBundle)

[Blitsie]

Damn [https://www.humblebundle.com/2k-games-bundle]

I ultimately decided to dive in and see how it is, as all I ever hear about Battleborn is "hurrrr its not Overwatch lawl" and at worst if it does suck I've got Civ 5 and Darkness to play.

...Its actually not that bad at all, I've only played two hours so far but first impressions left me feeling satisfied. The characters are quite varied and fun, its way less complicated than it looks and it feels overall pretty satisfying to play. Its pretty much a classic MOBA more than a team based shooter and it plays pretty well for one I must admit.

But it's quite a pity if I look at it, it seems to be a decent game brought down heavily by obnoxious marketing (dammit Randy) and a terrible release window. I hope it finds its dedicated playerbase at least as its still getting content updates and support, at this rate I'm quite keen on becoming part of that community haha.

But anyway just figured I'd share the new Humble Bundle and that Battleborn is in it at its cheapest so far, and for discussion sake, what's your genuine thoughts on Battleborn and anyone planning on jumping in?

 

[Zhukov]

I expected to hate Battleborn, played it during the open beta because, hey, free sample, and actually rather enjoyed it.

Didn't buy it because, well... Overwatch.

Main complaint was that it was visually a fucking mess, often to the point of not being able to see what was going on due to all the shit on my screen. Not personally a huge fan of the art style either.

 

[Myria]

Personally I think Battleborn's problems have as much or more to do with it being an okay game marred by some glaring design decisions rather than being directly caused by Overwatch.

I felt the single-player campaign -- the main reason I bought BB -- was depressingly short and, even then, quickly turned into an unfun mess. The PvP modes are limited and take too long for what little actual substance there is in them. Having only a small number of characters available at start was a big mistake, IMHO, as was the sheer amount of grind required to open things up. The way the story and lore are presented in-game is so lazy and half arsed it's downright insulting. I'm usually a lore nerd in most games, but pretty quickly I stopped wondering or caring who these people were and what the hell they were babbling about, it's just terribly presented. The graphical style could use some work, it is at best seizure inducing with so many blinking lights and neon colours that it can be tough at times to spot enemies at any kind of distance. Balance issues abound, especially between archetypes. Lastly, and I grant that ike many of these things this is very, very subjective, for whatever reason the recycled Borderlands characters, voices, and humor -- and there are so many obvious cut-and-paste jobs it's a bit embarrassing (must Patrick Warburton do *every* voice?) -- just really, really, really didn't work here.

I swear, if I hear "Badass" one more time I'll scream.

Anyway, in competition with Overwatch, and no matter how different the two games might be (not all that different, really, albeit by no means the same) they were in competition for the same gaming dollars -- Battleborn was inevitably going to lose. But even in the absence of Overwatch I don't think it would have done all that well.

Even having said all that, though, I'm a bit surprised to see how quickly it fell off the radar. Its appearance in a Humble Bundle this soon after release isn't a good sign, either. At this point I suspect the only way to salvage it is go F2P Evolve-style, and I'm not sure even that would matter.

 

[Blitsie]

I think it's ugly. But a dollar for Darkness II and Spec Ops seems like a good deal. I really should make a habit of watching these bundles.

I know right! I kinda wish they'd release a remaster of the first Darkness on all platforms though, adding the second one to steam just makes me want to play them both again.

Snip

I'm starting to see what you (and Zhukov) mean about the art style, I think it probably suffered a fair bit because of the three factions they have in the game being so radically different. I mean, I'm no expert at this but I guess one can only do so much when the character roster you have to keep constant under one art style includes a gentleman robot, a standard bow-wielding elf and a mushroom samurai among other completely random characters that don't fit together so well. And damn are you guys right, things just get too chaotic looking when player battles get heated.

Eh, I'll play a bit more and see where I end up. Overall glad I didn't chuck in a full $60 for it haha but also not feeling like I wasted money on it.

 

[Trunkage]

You also paying a dollar for Duke Nukem. Its not worth it.

 

[Redryhno]

Alot of it really just comes down to Gearbox. They didn't really market the game outside of the initial trailer with "OMG BRITISH ROBOT SNIPER" and just came out at the wrong time. Blizzard is basically the king of hype since they keep their fanbases running from one game to the next in a never ending game of tail-chasing. Hell, half the time they don't even really need to market beyond the basic Con-type circuit, their fans do it for them. It's sorta terrifying in a way.

Add in that Gearbox leans heavily on the diamond udders of their horse and the style of world Borderlands has for inspiration and just their own created spaces in general and haven't done a huge amount to garner sympathy or goodwill in regards to their bases the last few years, and you can sorta understand why it was a bit of a flop.

Shame too, because I'd love for Blizz to have a game completely flop for once, might make them do something to up their games for once. Might be nice to see a bit of complexity and skill-floor/ceiling added back into their games again.

 

[gyrobot_v1legacy]

Alot of it really just comes down to Gearbox. They didn't really market the game outside of the initial trailer with "OMG BRITISH ROBOT SNIPER" and just came out at the wrong time. Blizzard is basically the king of hype since they keep their fanbases running from one game to the next in a never ending game of tail-chasing. Hell, half the time they don't even really need to market beyond the basic Con-type circuit, their fans do it for them. It's sorta terrifying in a way.

Add in that Gearbox leans heavily on the diamond udders of their horse and the style of world Borderlands has for inspiration and just their own created spaces in general and haven't done a huge amount to garner sympathy or goodwill in regards to their bases the last few years, and you can sorta understand why it was a bit of a flop.

Shame too, because I'd love for Blizz to have a game completely flop for once, might make them do something to up their games for once. Might be nice to see a bit of complexity and skill-floor/ceiling added back into their games again.

ITS FRENCH/GERMAN ROBOT SNIPER GOOD SIR!

Also, it didn't help with Gearbox that they used the progressive pandering card where as Blizzard realized that gamers loves fanservice and Japanese seiyuus voicing their favorite waifu and just let the money roll in. D.va, Widowmaker and Tracer managed to make it easy vs Thorn and Deande's manjaw. Plus "PLEASE UNITS BE ADVISED! FEMINISM IS AWESOME!"

Seriously, despite what reviewers think. The fans will prefer an b-movie tier schlock to your marvel inspired game.

 

[gorfias]

Got, posted games keys to games I already had in the trading thread in this forum and tried Battleborn. I'm very early in the prologue learning their techniques. Seems fun. Very similar to Borderlands (The Pre-Sequel also part of the deal). More games always mroe fun than less games! A good deal. And they tend to add a few games/dlc during a sales 2nd week.

 

[Spider RedNight]

ITS FRENCH/GERMAN ROBOT SNIPER GOOD SIR!

Also, it didn't help with Gearbox that they used the progressive pandering card where as Blizzard realized that gamers loves fanservice and Japanese seiyuus voicing their favorite waifu and just let the money roll in. D.va, Widowmaker and Tracer managed to make it easy vs Thorn and Deande's manjaw. Plus "PLEASE UNITS BE ADVISED! FEMINISM IS AWESOME!"

Seriously, despite what reviewers think. The fans will prefer an b-movie tier schlock to your marvel inspired game.

Dammit, I never noticed that Deande had a man-jaw 'til you pointed it out. Now I can't unsee it.

OT: Yeah, Battleborn and a whole lotta other crap I don't want for PC, which isn't my primary platform. I'd rather just get Battleborn for my PS4 and donate 15 bucks to charity separately. Now, I still SORT of like Battleborn more than Overwatch (now that I've finally played both of them so I can actually see which one I prefer) because at least BB still has a single player and story mode with more focus on PvE half the time (just ignore my beautiful avatar when discussing BB vs OW at this juncture) buuuuuut yeah, they should've released it sooner, among other things - I have a buddy who was SUPER into Battleborn and proud that they didn't really turn to microtransactions-- ohhhh wait, there's a bunch of microtransactions for skins, huh. Welp.

Also I wish Gearbox would toss Brina Palencia out of their pool of "characters who they think need to talk a lot" because I'm still bitter about the whole "Moxxi" thing. The characters are generally more fun though and I think they're less pander-y, though the writing is sorta... mmmmmmeh. Also what the HELL Gearbox, freakin' taking Ian Sinclair, f*ckin' SPACE DANDY and wasting him on giant idiot Montana? Get one of your other dudes to do that, give Ian Sinclair a character that reflects how smug he can be. ... I like Montana BUT STILL.

Buuuuuut I digress. I'll probably skip it for it to be even cheeeeaper (if that's possible) - I don't have any friends to play with, anyhow -fake tear-

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I agree with the others here about the game being kind of a mess visually.

When you compare it to Overwatch, Overwatch's designs are safer and more sterile, but also A LOT cleaner so it's much easier to tell what the hell you're looking at, and overwatch's visuals never descend into completely blown-out neon light tomfoolery.

I even like quite a few of the character designs in Battleborn, but I hate way more of them.

 

[gorfias]

Damn [https://www.humblebundle.com/2k-games-bundle]

I ultimately decided to dive in and see how it is, as all I ever hear about Battleborn is "hurrrr its not Overwatch lawl" and at worst if it does suck I've got Civ 5 and Darkness to play.

Did you already have Mafia II? I did not. Back in the day, I had Mafia I demo and my PC could barely play. Don't recall if I ever bothered with the full game.

Donated most of the games on this bundle in this forum (Steam trading locked thread) as I had them already. Mafia 2 I did not. I have the day off for chores and have been playing Mafia II all morning. So far, I'm liking it more than GTA 5! A complete hoot. And, as I am old, the WW2 era music on the radio is a hoot! My PC rig is handling it at an average of 58 FPS on high settings, so, it looks surprisingly pretty for a gen 7 title. I can't recommend it enough so far.

Still on prologue on Battleborn. It's fine, but with games like Paragon and Evolve for free, it has some stiff competition.

PS: I'm guessing I won't be able to apply the bonuses like skins till I'm through with the prologue, correct?

 

[Blitsie]

snip

You apply the skin and premium currency codes through that SHiFT option listed under extras in the main menu, you can only use the currency and apply skins after finishing the prologue though. Also add the valid ones from this site [http://orcz.com/Battleborn:_Shift_Codes] for a loot pack or two The site tracks and updates the codes as Gearbox releases them so its all legit stuff.

And Mafia 2 is great! I was a bit disappointed that they never fully utilized the open world (although I enjoyed getting smashed at the bar every night before heading to bed to start the next day and mission) and not to ruin anything but the ending leaves a LOT to be desired sadly. But heck, definitely a fantastic game overall though haha.

Anyway, I had my first few matches on Battleborn so far, its like a bearable FPS version of Dota I must admit (note that I am biased against top-down MOBA's overall though, I never had good experiences playing Heroes or Dota 2 and I refuse to touch LoL) and I'm enjoying it more and more as I get better at it. Overall I'm happy I grabbed it haha.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Stopped play Bb because it has microtransactions on skins that were in the files since beta. And the AI is free to use those at that.

Shame, because the game is good. But the MT's pretty much killed the game.

 

[Blitsie]

I think people draw unfair comparisons between Battleborn and Overwatch.

Battleborn is an FPS Moba, Overwatch is not.

The only crossover in genres is the character selection screen, and being FPS games.

OT: It's actually a really good deal, assuming you don't own the other games. But what do you actually get in the base game, and is platinum used for anything, other than skins?

The base game is pretty well rounded, you get all the characters (including the 5 dlc ones which must be bought with in game money, only one out so far though), all the multiplayer maps (upcoming dlc maps as well) and the full campaign. The only stuff you'll be missing out on is upcoming story dlc and free access to the dlc characters, which you get with the season pass.

Apart from skins and taunts, you can use platinum to unlock more inventory space for loot and extra loadouts, but they can fortunately also be bought with standard in game money and arent too expensive. Skins and taunts can be acquired through loot crates too at least.

I wont lie, the premium coin system is insultingly freemium looking and does dampen the experience a bit, but theres a hella entertaining moba experience to enjoy if you can look over it. Like I won a match where we were 4 mid level guys against 5 level 60-100 players and on the last 30 seconds we gave a desperate last push which secured our win on the last 5 seconds, it was pretty exhillirating.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

I decided to go for the $15 just to see if I could like Battleborn, not a good sign that a $60 game is going for that in a humble bundle so soon but eh...

The game has a LOT of self-inflicted problems, and even after the patches its had I still don't think it's ready for primetime. Like, I get the impression that the last couple months of development were insane over-crunch in some attempt to beat Overwatch to the punch (even though they're offering a completely different experience).

My main issue is that the optimization is fucked. My PC isn't God-tier (i5 3.7/R9 280) but it runs every game I through at it at 60fps, having to lower some things to medium sometimes. I can't get Battleborn to hold any steady fps of any kind, and a lot of the fluctuation has to do with which direction I'm looking in the map. Even with the draw distance at "near", the game renders a ton of unneeded background details that tank the fps if you're looking at them. Fullscreen, borderless, windowed, low/medium/high/ultra, even lowering to 900p can't stop it from dropping below 30 and this is a major stumbling block for me when F2P Evolve holds a rock-steady 60 with everything jacked.

There is also entirely too much shit happening on the screen at once quite often, usually during the (far too frequent) "engage the thingy and stop the waves of bad guys from attacking it" that Destiny loves. It makes it difficult to make strategic decisions, unfortunate because Gearbox clearly has aspirations of strategic depth here. It's refreshing that compared to Borderlands your character has more than one ability and that you get to spec out your character fully and quickly over a match.

The story is silly, but not at all funny, and if you want to experience the actual story you have to do it solo. Playing the story with a party had me bouncing all around the timeline, and at no point did I have any idea who anyone was or what the hell was supposed to be happening. I strongly get the impression that it wouldn't be worth it to me to solo the story to fully grasp the "wacky" epic lore that the story has.

Matchmaking and balance are also kinda fucked. My second PvP game had me with other newbs against like 3 lvl 100 dudes, and even if the player skill was balanced, the RPG-lite aspirations, loot, and complete chaos of so many abilities happening all over the place must make this game a nightmare to attempt to balance, and they're adding new characters during this process. Maybe I just still suck and with time I'll better know what the hell's going on, but at least I feel like I have a chance of understanding it all and nobody is crucifying me for not knowing yet, in comparison to a game like DOTA.

I guess that turned into a mini-review, but I don't hate the game; it just wasn't ready for primetime. I'll keep checking back in to see if patches improve optimization and matchmaking, it's clear that Gearbox desperately doesn't want it to be the next Evolve but a lot of their decisions on release almost looked like them asking for that.

 

[Dameindarkh]

Good price I'll try to take as soon as possible.