Control was Passthecontroller’s Game of the Year in 2019 and I was one of many editors who voted for it, but I was skeptical of Remedy, a studio known for telling great single-player stories in third-person games. The project turned out to be FBC: Firebreak, a three-person PVE First-Person multiplayer shooter. And in the handoff demonstrations I saw, it became very quickly clear that my skepticism was completely unfair. The fire is refreshingly original in an oversaturated space, and is fun and strange in the sea of military and/or sci-fi online shooters, and perhaps more than anything, it doesn’t require the massive commitment like many of its contemporaries. As game director Mike Cayatta said, “We’re not about daily check-in. We’re not interested in monthly grinds. We don’t want anyone to give a second job.” Say it again, Mike, for the people behind us.
FBC: Firebreak is a 3-player cooperative FPS and is not nonsense if what’s promising. You can play for 20 minutes or several hours if you wish. You can keep things fresh as perks unlock and new combinations between characters are repeated and run. But what are you doing here, back to the oldest house, and have lots of strange weapons in your hands? Essentially, you are the first volunteer counterpart in the oldest home when things lie down seriously. Your character is a secretary, ranger, and other “normal” professions that listen to the call to service. The Federal Command doesn’t say you’re a consumable, but… you’re a consumable.
When you log in and play, you will select your Job (missions) and Crisis Kit (basically Loadout) before setting your threat level (difficulty) and clearance level. The zone is separated by containment doors, which moves you to the next stage of work. And the job I saw is called Paper Chase and is set in the rather mundane office section of the FBC building. Hiss is spreading, and it’s up to you to work together to beat them.
Of course, you can get hell out of there as soon as possible if you want, but if you want to upgrade your new gear and get some currency you can buy, you need to escape safely. And the longer you spend exploring for currency, the more difficult it will be to return it to headquarters on one card.
Speaking of gear, that’s what FBC: Firebreak is beginning to set you apart from other multiplayer shooters. Many guns are attractively unusual, and most people have a homemade vibe like a gun fired by hand-made snowballs that can be set on fire. Or a cobblestone zapper that can lighten up in a room full of bad guys when attached to the nozzle on the right. Or, when a squeaky pig toy is attached, a large wrench that causes a swirl of coins will peel off the enemy. However, don’t worry. There are still staples like machine guns and shotguns. The latter is your go-to after dipping or zapping one of the sticky monsters.
Oh yeah, about them: the overall point of this particular job is to eliminate all the sticky notes before overrunning the entire brutal building. Note the number of sticky notes left to destroy in the top left corner. As the mission progresses, it actually goes up. Because by the time it’s finished, you’ll face off against a huge sticky note monster. Think of Sandman from the end of Spider-Man 3.
But it’s not just strange weapons. There are also fun gameplay mechanics, like an office supply shelf that refills ammunition, a successor turret that literally throws out of a box on the floor, a hiss-proof stereo speaker, and a stereo speaker that washes rinse stations that wash off aggressive sticky scents on your face. Unlockable perks infuse more spice and variety into your gameplay. Some examples I’ve seen: perks where each bullet has the opportunity to return to your clip, and another perk that allows you to jump up and down to erase yourself. Also, if you get two of the same perks, you can get a more powerful version. If you get 3, you can share the effects of Perks with your nearby teammates.
Incidentally, if you are wondering, you don’t need to have three people to play. You can also play solo or duo. Meanwhile, Remedy aims for a lower than normal minimum PC specification, but on the other side of the spectrum, FBC also supports DLSS4 with Multi-Frame generation, NVIDIA Reflex and Full Ray-Tracing. Steam Deck will also be verified and will be launched on the first day on Xbox and PC Game Pass along with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium. Finally, there is a post-launch content plan that Remedy is not yet ready to share at all, and there are paid cosmetics, but that’s the scope of microtransactions.
To be fair, I’m not actually playing FBC: Firebreak so I have to be careful about my enthusiasm. But so far it certainly passes the eye test. This is almost certainly not a multiplayer running shooter in a very good way. And the fact that it’s an online game that reaches and leaves without the need for a massive, continuous time commitment to enjoy it is a refreshing throwback to the days when it was the norm.
Ryan McCaffrey is the executive editor of Passthecontroller previews and is a host of both Passthecontroller’s Weekly Xbox Show. Unlock podcastsand our monthly (-ish) interview show, Passthecontroller is not filtered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so he’s “Taylorham” rather than “pork roll.” Discuss it with him on Twitter @dmc_ryan.
