Parents' Guide to Spellbreak

Battle royale games are all the rage these days, either as an extra multiplayer option for bigger franchise releases or as standalone titles trying to carve out a niche in a crowded marketplace. Spellbreak falls squarely into the latter category, standing out from the pack by replacing firearms and hand grenades with spells and sorcery. This makes for some unique gameplay options, such as flight, teleportation, and flashy magical attacks. Players start with one elemental set of spells and can pick up an additional set in the field. This opens up the ability to combine elements into even more powerful attacks, such as shooting a lightning bolt into a tornado to whip up a devastating electrical windstorm. There's a lot of fun to be had in figuring out some creative combinations to wipe out the opposition. In fact, there's a lot of fun to be had in most part of any match, though sometimes the game seems to be its own worst enemy.

Most battle royale games drop all players into the match on equal footing, with no player more or less powerful than any other. Spellbreak skips past this idea with its levelling mechanic. Players earn experience in matches and level up their characters to unlock the usual batch of accessories, badges, and other cosmetic goodies. But players can also unlock new talents, which are special permanent abilities tied into their chosen class. While this gives players an extra goal to shoot for, it also means that newcomers or casual players can often get dropped into a match where they're already at a disadvantage. Another big factor hurting the game is population. Maps are hefty in size, but the number of mages in any given match is relatively small in comparison to other games, with only about 40+ players per match. Even in heavily populated matches of other battle royale games, it can take a while to find other players. Cut that population in half, and Spellbreak can often wind up being a lonely experience that misses out on its fullest potential.