All trailers, showcases and devali are more surprising than ever, as they often lead to recent game releases. This is especially true for multiplayer first-person shooters when, like me, they are certified old Gamer™s who have played them since the genre began. But Flagpunk did just that. What I’m worried about is that it could become a brave clone with a big list of card gimmicks and other buzzword features. It’s still early and I’m not ready to say whether this is a clear winner or not, but so far I’ve been struggling to put Fragpunk.
In many ways, Fragpunk reminds me of Theseus’s reverse ship. If all the components of the game come from somewhere, will they ultimately become original? It’s hard to say, but the results are at least very enjoyable. Like Overwatch, it has a very individual character. Like Valorant and Counter-Strike, the primary game mode called Shard Clash revolves around a team of five, planting and ejecting converters (also aside the bombs) and eliminating them from each other in multiple rounds. Like Fortnite, there are deep bags of cosmetics like costumes, weapon skins, stickers, emotions, and more, and you’ll seduce them to spend money on this free-play shooter game.
Fragpunk’s playable characters are called Lancers, and so far this is a fun group to choose from. Some are relatively typical archetypes, like a sniper named Hollowpoint, whose abilities are to help reveal the enemy. Others are there like axons of punk rockers shooting lightning from their guitars. Unlike courage, which abilities can give you an edge, but rarely win a fight completely, Flagpunk places a great emphasis on using them to control the map. If an abilities like a broker’s rocket launcher can instantly erase enemies, it’s a good feeling to use it yourself or devise a counter on the spot.
Naturally, not all flagpunks are lightning guitars and rockets. Standard assortment of shotguns, SMGs, assault rifles and more form the backbone of combat. I don’t mind that guns aren’t really the stars of the show here, but I hope there’s more variety. Each category has two options to choose from as your main weapon, all of which shoot almost exactly how you expect it. I’ve been drawn to SMG as most maps seem to prefer medium range engagement. Gunplay is smooth and responsive, and the time spent at a rapid pace does a good job of highlighting the importance of positioning on raw gun skills.
Another aspect of the shooting that stands out is how little movement is for your purpose. Unlike Valorant, where stops and pops are often essential when you want to be accurate, Fragpunk completely envelops your running and gunning. I realized I was repeatedly behind my team in kill count until my teammates pointed out that it would be better to treat a firefight like Call of Duty like Powers. That style of shooting is not necessarily better than the more intentional action of other games, but it stands out as atypical for objective-based tactical shooters, as it appears to fit perfectly with the general flagpunk vibe.
However, the star of the show is the shard card system. Before every round, each team has three random cards drawn. The player can then enter shard points and vote effectively and actively. The cost of effectiveness varies and you can earn more shard points by getting a kill or picking it up from the ground mid-round. Some are simple, like ones that increase your motor speed, others force you to play as a close fight in the next round, or some are very powerful, like ones called Big Head. Some are even utterly strange, like the King of Eggs. This allows you to lay eggs after squatting for 10 seconds and eat them to regain their health. It’s hilarious, totally strange, unlike anything you’ve seen in a shooter game before.
I’m amazed at how much he enjoys the card collection aspect of Fragpunk. Starting with less than a third of the total 169 shard cards in stock, you can earn more after completing the match. Randomly selected cards before each round get more issues as they are based on what each team member unlocks. Getting a new card and reading the weirdness it presents is pretty exciting. I’m also grateful to be able to easily review the collection, read the effects, and in some cases, watch a quick video showing exactly what it is doing.
A round of shard collisions can be too fast. In theory, one team is trying to plant a converter at one of two objective points, while the other team needs to soften it… But in reality, when one team wipes out the other team in a minute, the overwhelming majority of rounds ends. That is, when matched, it rarely makes a brave strategic game very appealing. It also means that Lancers with the ability to have a more subtle and tactical focus have been deemed generally not feasible to date. I want to wear a Nito turret and drone to hold my points, but that’s just a recipe for all the action to happen elsewhere. Hopefully some balanced tweaks arrive and make the goal a more relevant part of the action.
The match ends when one team wins in a total of four rounds, but when both teams win three before that happens, they activate one of my favorite twists: Duel. This will allow each team to face off in a series of 1V1 battles in a small arena, and survive to face the next champions of the other teams until all one member is eliminated. Health and ability do not play rounds from round to round, making it difficult for one good player to run the table. The action is as exciting as it is tense, and thrilling when you win the entire team match while taking root with your teammates and waiting for your turn, especially when you get the victory that closes the duel.
So far, I’ve really enjoyed Fragpunk, but there are still some unanswered questions before I make the final verdict. I’m still at some level where I can compete in ranked competitions. This is an important mode for this type of game. Similarly, I wonder if that novelty can disappear faster than I would later, just as I enjoy both action and hilariously mad shard cards. There are still more matches to fight, Lancers to unlock, cards to collect, and in-game currency to grasp. For now, Fragpunk is a lot of fun, but it pulls a lot from the games that came before, but it mixes with a twist and a twist in a way that feels original, against the grain.
