Publisher: Xbox Games Studios
Developer: Ninja Theory
Platform: Xbox One, PC
Genre: MOBA

As a verse from David Bowie follows:

"Rebel rebel, you've torn your dress
Rebel rebel, your face is a mess
Rebel rebel, how could they know?
Hot tramp, I love you so!"

That's what pretty much sums up Bleeding Edge's neo cyberpunk aesthetics. A brawler-esque MOBA that pits 4v4 players on different modes with different objectives. Ninja Theory took what they've learned from all the games they've created and put the best aspects of it into this new online exclusive for Microsoft.

That is, of course, there being caveats for a Ninja Theory game which is pretty usual for their lineups. Even with all that being said, there's a lot to appreciate from the hack'n'slash maestros. The combat roster is varied from different personalities to different skill kits. Although I kind of wish they added more rougher characters or one that really stands out from the bunch, cause it's easy to ascertain that they're generic Overwatch rip-offs when it comes to traits.

Backstory

So here's the main plot: governments are corrupt and corporations are ruling all over. The system is bad, so a bunch of ragtag group of no-good dastardly augmented fighters, team up to fight against the tyranny of the modern world so they could uh...take their freedom back. Kind of dystopian but not really.

It's as basically laid out as anything else you've read about cyberpunk. While their design, feel and demeanor certainly adds more style along with substance, it doesn't compensate much for the lackluster world-building. The same can be said for each of the rosters as some of them have little to no depth in their biographies.

Online Gameplay

This game plays out like Overwatch, by having the same mission objectives and same type of misfits to pick. You have to pick from Damage, Support and Tank types. 4 players each team have to pick these misfits, though someone needs to be the support or tank or having both on the team essential for the group play experience.

Damage are the ones with gap-closers, special combo attacks, their attacks can be both melees and ranged. Tank takes most of the damage while providing more crowd-control around the arena. Support are the ones who provide armor and regenerates health as well as obstacles against the opposing team.

All characters kit involves a basic attack, 3 special abilities, a super out of 2 which you get to pick from hero selection, dodging and jumping. Locking enemies is simple yet a bit tricky at times, especially because of the camera which doesn't fit in for small spaces but still is doable in retrospect. Oh, you can also parry attacks by dodging while standing still. It'll knock back your attacker. At character selection, you'll even get to pick out mods to use from the default to your custom-tailored as long as you play and unlock each of the mods to use them in a set of 3.

There are only two different modes, one is capturing the objective points and the other one is where you collect power cells and deposit them for points without getting hit. In each map, the objective point will deactivate and reactivate based on a timer. This helps with momentum as fights can get tense at times. Killing opponents grant you extra points as well. For armor and damage boost, you have to pummel the crates. Health pickups are all over the map so that you can replenish your HP.

The issue is, while the game is a lot of fun to play with interesting mechanics and great level designs adding extra verticality, there isn't much else to compete for. Once you've spent the last 10hrs playing all the characters and two of the only modes, you pretty much got the rest of the game. It's kind of barebones atm. Even if there are interesting map rotations such as one where you need to capture a point which is moving in a circle around the map and blocked by electrical fences which will take a substantial amount of health points from you.

Ok now let me get straight to the technical aspect of the game. I have faced netcode issues playing, it also doesn't tell you which country server you're in just to know the latency. Thanks to this issue alone, my experience held back some of the enjoyment. There are also a few numerous bugs around the scoreboard like where the opposing team gets score if you kill someone, rarely.

Production Value

BE is visually striking and a technical marvel of a game. Playing this I had little to FPS drops and it was running at the highest settings possible. While the cell-shaded art design takes influences from either Sunset Overdrive or Borderlands, the finer detail makes it more compelling to gaze upon.

Sound design is superb, it has sharp audio adding some comical personality alongside. Though there's a quite left to be desired on the soundtrack but am giving it some benefit of the doubt come the updates within a few months.

Verdict

Yes, this game looks great, It plays great. It's fun to play with the combat and mission structure making it enticing. With the gameplay being deep, the rest of it in terms of content is as wide as a puddle.

Not only that, but it also costs 30 USD to afford. Just for 11 character rosters (12th one coming soon and it's a Dolphin in a fish tank mecha) and 2 modes with few map varieties. Yet, I've enjoyed my time playing this. I would have done so more if they had the netcode and matchmaking problems fixed.

It's a good game only if you can buy it for the price, if not then there's Game Pass that should give you access to both the game and it's bonus DLC content. Am sure with the right support in the coming months it'll get more modes, new misfits to play and probably an old fashion PvP focused mode. But am giving it harsh love for now.

6.5