Killsquad is out today on Steam Early Access. It’s basically a coop MOBA-Action-RPG that can be played online with up to 3 more friends, or you can also play solo (but it defeats the purpose of the game mechanics design).
It’s a mix between DOTA 2’s character progressions and Diablo style action gameplay where you control a character with a mixture of skills & specialties to basically just kill stuffs. But don’t think too far and expecting a full blown game like DOTA2 and Diablo though.
Killsquad is an indie game from the developer Novarama that you can get for just $19.99 / €19.99 / £16.99.
The premise is simple: Pick a hero to play (there are 4 heroes currently but more will be released), pick a “Contract” (or a mission), and play. There is unfortunately no story elements in the game so the game can be somewhat repetitive in a sense. Each time you want to play Killsquad, you basically only pick a single mission (with an objective) and play until you reach the end of the map. You then either have to kill the boss, or protect the area for certain x amount of time.
As such, it’s a game that you can play for a short amount of time on your own or with friends as the mission itself is not that long. Other online, cooperative games tend to lock you in for half an hour to 4 hours at times where you either have to finish the whole run, or quit and anger your teammates.
As you play the mission, your character will level up and can gain new skill progressions (like DOTA2 if you play the game). Based on your team composition and how the game evolves, you may pick a different one each time, making the game somewhat different from one to the other.
There are no loots while you are doing the mission, which is a pity, but at the end of the game you’ll get in-game currencies where you can trade them with weapons and stuffs.
After the mission is completed, your character will “reset” itself to level 1, meaning there is no permanent character progression in a way. It is a design decision for sure which means you can enjoy playing with anyone as there are no level requirements. On the other hand, however, gamers who love their characters to becomes stronger may get turned off by this design choice.
The gameplay itself is very smooth and in fact, 3 of my friends who played together with me to review the game all praised the same thing. Thanks to the Unreal Engine, the graphics are great with fluid combat mechanics. There is a short frame stutter occasionally, but should be something that can be fixed or updated after the launch.
Controls are done using both a keyboard and a mouse, and after a few minutes of gameplay, they feel like home.
With different characters and classes, things also get interesting as you have to play your roles properly to succeed. And as the game gets harder (if you pick the harder contracts/missions), the game gets more fun and challenging.
We are using Discord to communicate and had lots of fun and laughs playing Killsquad.
In the long run however, Killsquad doesn’t keep you hooked or addicted like many other games of similar genres. Loots are not plenty and not randomised, there are no story elements so you just pick a contract or short mission and play, and there is no character progression outside of missions. The missions are quite repetitive so it depends on how many friends you have to play with, and whether they are fun to play with.
But if you want a short burst of cooperative multiplayer fun every now and then, Killsquad is a good grab for just $19.99. It’s also still Early Access, so there might be more surprises in the future. They have already released the Roadmap that you can read on the Dev Diary 6.
Disclosure: Killsquad review license was supplied for reviewing but all opinions are mine and not paid
