Originally posted by Alex Ashcroft
For Honor, created by Epic Games and published by Ubisoft Montreal, is a Medieval action fighting game which pits 3 factions against each other in a bid to decide who is cooler; Knights, Vikings or Samurai. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they can’t agree. The Open Beta has just ended and we here at Out Of Lives would like to share our first impressions (SPOILER: it’s great).
Upon first impressions, this game looks to be a sort of hack and slash game. This is where most people are wrong. This is NOT a hack and slash game. Okay, there is lots of hacking AND slashing, but For Honor’s combat is deceptively deep. New players, who have been Beta testing the game until yesterday, have quickly realised that running around and tapping R2 repeatedly have found that that’s an easy way to get yourself killed. For Honor forces you to refine your second to second decision making to where it’s basically a fighting game but on a very large 3D plain.
‘It’s basically a fighting game’
This is all thanks to For Honor’s combat system, lovingly named the ‘Art Of Battle’. This is a whole new combat system that Epic Games have crafted to give players a new look into melee warfare. For example, gone is the 1 button block and has instead been replaced by this:
‘En garde, you fool!’
Simply put, you have 3 stances. Each direction, using the right stick or mouse, will be the direction that you both block AND attack from. Sounds simple enough right? Wrong. You have light attacks, quick and low damage, and Heavy attacks, slow and powerful. From here on you have a whole depth of combat options, including ( but limited to) parrying, guard breaking, deflecting, dodging and feinting (which I still can’t do). Considering most fights might last minutes, that’s a whole lot of combat. For Honor is a fresh look at an old genre, and is something I never expected to enjoy as much as I do.
12 heroes so far, with more on the way.
After release, Ubisoft have stated that whilst you CAN buy the season pass and receive new content straight away, all DLC will be in fact free. All you’ll need to do is grind away that in-game currency to buy new heroes. This is strikingly similar to Rainbow Six: Siege’s DLC and fans have cheered Ubisoft in its implementation.
With the Beta over and release only a day away, For Honor is shaping up to be a surprising release so early into 2017. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that, unlike Titanfall 2, For Honor doesn’t fly under the radar and goes unnoticed by a considerable portion of gamers. Trust me when I say, this is well worth a try.
For blood, for glory, FOR HONOR!
For Honor releases February 14th for PS4, PC and Xbox One.
