I had the opportunity to play a few games with the developers of Fractured Space, returning to space aboard the huge spaceships of the space combat game to learn in the company of the best how to fight! Before getting started, I invite you to reread my overview of this promising game, currently in early access. Progressing through several technological trees, we board ships categorized along three axes: attack, defense and utility. Favoring tactics and cooperative group play, there are not many shortcuts to know, allowing you to get involved in the games fairly quickly without necessarily going through a long learning phase.
During our first game, I opted for the Phantom Ghost, a ship that has a lot of punching power (9), unfortunately offset by a ridiculous defense (4). Its main ability is to be able to switch to stealth mode, and thus to approach enemy ships to inflict explosive damage. The concern with this ship is to survive after the initial attack. Finding yourself in the middle of the battlefield, it is often impossible to get out without damage. Even though the developer was playing a support ship and trying to keep me alive, so I had an important time waiting to be able to return to the battlefield after a quick death.
In the second part, I opted for a more balanced ship, the Venturer. It has the advantage of being average overall (7-7-6) and therefore much easier to handle. Possessing good ranged firepower, he can also survive longer thanks to shield and healing (which can extend to nearby allies) and counter missiles. Unsurprisingly, I was able to be much more efficient in this second part, more comfortable with the ship and the flow of the game.
In addition, our team won!
To quickly recap the matches, Fractured Space takes place in a separate, multi-part battlefield where two teams of five players compete against each other. Each team has its base camp, then on the right and left, there are the Alpha and Beta zones. Initially, each has half of these two spaces. Then, in the middle, there is the Gamma area where it is possible to unlock a temporary buff every now and then. The developer reconfirmed to me the importance of this Gamma zone, and we systematically participated in the battles to obtain it. As the game progresses, this buff gets more and more powerful, making its loss catastrophic after a while.
When the Gamma zone is not active, it is necessary to advance in the alpha and beta sectors. For that, it is necessary to capture outposts and to work in concert with the other ships to support each other because it is above all a team game. Of course, you have to be careful that the enemy does not progress too much on his side, even if it means separating to stop the enemy's progress when the situation requires it. And if ever the enemy succeeds in advancing far enough and teleporting to the base camp, there is no need to think about it: everyone at home to defend!
Dynamic and pleasant, against a background of lively music and supported by quality graphics, Fractured Space offers games of around 5 minutes via the Conquest world at 5 against 10. Another mode, not yet available, includes more games. fast, only 15 to XNUMX minutes. Let's conclude with some good news! If you didn't want to pay to test: free-to-play is here! As they had planned, it's time to move on to the second phase. After a first step where the developers primarily wanted feedback from involved and passionate players (hence the early access paid), it is now time to welcome more players and fill the servers in order to reduce the time required. 'wait!
