If crafting your own robot and sending it into battle is your kind of thing, then the upcoming Robocraft Infinity may just be the game you’ve been waiting for.
We all know how addictive it can be trying to invent a masterful creation that puts all to shame, especially if you’ve been a fan of LEGO at any point in your life. Since the dawn of man however – or at least since we last watched Robot Wars on Channel 5 – there have been many of us crying out for a game that brings the chance to make a completely unique robot to take into battle. Whilst there have been Robot Wars games in the past, there has been nothing that has allowed us to mix with millions of others online and really put our creations to the test. Robocraft Infinity looks to be the first Xbox One title to bring us that long-held dream and after spending some time with the recent beta, it’s fair to say I’m excited about getting the chance to put my own inventions to the test when the game releases later this year.
For those unaware, Robocraft Infinity is an upcoming Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive game that’s being published and developed by FreeJam Games using the Unity engine. After already amassing over 13 million players worldwide on PC, the Robocraft series is now arriving on Xbox One, but was the beta enough to peak our interest for the eventual release? Well yes, for now at least.
It has to be said that during my time with the beta, there wasn’t a huge amount of content accessible, however what was there brought some rather enjoyable gameplay.
The idea of the game is simple. Build. Drive. Fight. That’s all you’ll generally be doing. What makes it fun though are the many possibilities that are available.
The first job you’ll have as a perspective robot battler is to create your machine. Crafting is fairly straightforward; players use their crafting gun from a first-person view to place unlocked blocks and parts such as wheels and guns into place, with all the different pieces making up your mechanised vehicle of death. Blocks and parts are infinitely available for use and have no limits once unlocked meaning you won’t need to run around collecting parts and being stingy in where you place them. Until you unlock more – which is done through daily log-in bonuses and levelling up – you’ll find a limited choice available. Thankfully, there are a bunch of pre-made machines that can be used with cars, Transformer-style robots and even a massive green T-Rex robot all on offer… but the real fun however comes in making your own unique creation.
In Robocraft Infinity you can have any type of vehicle, from ground based to flying, or a mix of both, and the way you design it is entirely up to you.
My vehicle for example was intended to be some rather epic looking car that was inspired by the Death Race movie. However what it actually turned out to be was a machine that resembled the appearance of a car, but with spindly legs to run on. It didn’t turn out to be the best design choice but it certainly provided plenty of fun in trying to make it work and more importantly make it competitive.
During the beta, the main game mode to get stuck into was the 5v5 Death Match mode. There are Create and Test modes which allow you to do just that, create and test, but when it comes down to the battling, 5v5 Death Match mode is where the real gameplay gets underway and that’s when you’ll find out just how well your creation holds up online.
For me it was where I realised that after an hour of creating one vehicle, all I had actually created was something that could be destroyed within seconds. Why? Well because whilst it may be simple blocks that hold your vehicle together, there are certain things to keep in mind, such as the inclusion of health blocks. My reliance was down to speed, but it only took a couple of my legs being damaged and a wheel being destroyed to render my vehicle useless as those with better planning wiped the floor with me.
That’s really the beauty of Robocraft Infinity too. Whilst planning is vital, it’s great to see just what others can come up with and with countless possibilities available in the creation side of things, it makes for some rather unique sights on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t really much more than the 5v5 mode available, but from what I’ve seen in the beta, this is without doubt a game that we should be looking forward to… it’s certainly one that could finally bring us that true competitive robot fighting that gaming has been lacking for so long.
The Robocraft Infinity Beta has proven that FreeJam Games have a title with a clever idea and a unique style. With a general release pinned at just some point in 2018, there’s plenty of chance we’ll see major changes come to the game. It’s well worth watching for this one in the coming months.
