It’s the year 3587. Robot armies are locked in an endless
battle over the precious resource, Solar. To break the stalemate; you, an
Awesomenaut has been hired as an elite mercenary to destroy the enemy
operation. All that stands between you and your goal is several giant machine
gun turrets and an opposing team of Awesomenauts. So get going!
Awesomenauts shakes up the traditional formula of
multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs). Instead of being a top-down view where
your character moves in a 3D environment, Awesomenauts is 2D side-scrolling
platform game with a lot of vertical movement.
This ties perfectly with the game’s aesthetic. Awesomenauts
has a 80s, late 90s Saturday morning cartoon feel. The character design, music,
animation and the fantastic intro to the game all come together perfectly. It
puts you in the mood to blast bad guys, grab the loot and save the day!
The game distances itself from traditional MOBAs by cutting
out a lot of the complexity, whilst retaining the core gameplay idea. Two teams
of three face each other on a very limited choice of maps (only three at the
time of writing). Each team has a home base where their employer’s Solar drill
is based. This is also where you can purchase items and upgrades from a giant
vending machine. To protect the home bases, there are giant machine gun turrets
which will quickly strip you of all your health if you give them a chance.
The middle ground of the maps is made up of two different
routes, one high and one low. There are plenty of platforms and jump pads that
help you traverse the levels, as well as neutral enemies that can be killed for
health pick-ups to get you back in the fight.
Character design is wonderfully weird and wacky. Each has a
standard attack, which for most characters is a short ranged shot aimed with
the mouse. On top of that you have two abilities to unleash on your opponents.
There are no mana bars or resource mechanics, each use of an ability is only
limited by a cool down timer which is clearly displayed at the bottom of the
UI. It’s simple, but it lets you focus of the fight and have fun throwing
attacks.
Item builds are also kept simple. With standard MOBAs,
consulting various fan written guides is usually a necessity to make sure you
perform well. Here, your choice is limited. You can choose to stock the vending
machine with three out of six upgrade for each of your abilities, basic attack
and a couple of utility items such as extra health. Every upgrade clearly
explains what bonus it gives, so you can easily tailor your choices to your
play style.
It’s not all about simplifications though, as Awesomenauts
throws in some great new ideas. The best of these is the way you enter battle
and respawn. Each time, you are launched in a drop pod which lands just behind
your base. On the way down you can control the pod by moving left and right.
This lets you grab some bonus Solar to spend on items and most importantly,
gives you something to do while you wait to re-join the fight. Instead of just
having to sit and wait.
The gameplay is fast and frantic. Mouse and keyboard
controls are very responsive, you can also use a gamepad if you prefer. The challenge in Awesomnauts doesn’t come from
tedious mechanics such as ‘last hitting’ and ‘denying’. Instead it comes from
hitting your opponents. It sounds like a very simple task, but characters are
very manoeuvrable and fights often become vertical as players leap around the
level.
Games are usually finished in twenty minutes or less, which
makes it great to pick up and play, as you don’t have to commit forty or so
minutes to then be let down by a team
mate disconnecting. Awesomenauts does try to fix the problem of players giving
up, however the solution is terrible and my biggest criticism of the game. Any
player who leaves the game is replaced by a bot, but they are not nearly as
capable as a human player and often do silly suicidal attacks. Opponents will
quickly use this to farm kills and gain an upper hand that you’ll struggle to
overcome. Other players can join the game and replace the bot; however the
damage is usually done by this point. So I’d strongly recommend playing with
two friends so you have a full team at all times.
My only other complaint with the game is that you have to
unlock characters and items to use in-game. And the end of every match, you
gain some experience which advances a bar to the next unlock. You quickly get
all the characters and have a good selection of starting items, but the system
feels tacked on, considering you pay for the game upfront. The only other
things you can purchase are some extra skins for characters.
As a whole, it provides a great alternative to other MOBA
games. It’s a lot more accessible to new players, and does this whilst
retaining a good level of customisation in character builds. It deserves a
wider audience; however the fanbase for MOBAs is very conservative, often
preferring titles that stick closely to the origins of the genre.
