I'm a bit torn between posting this on the "Blurb on games that probably doesn't need a thread" thread, or just open a new one.
Given that I had some genuine fun with this game, I'm going for the latter.
Heavy Metal Machines is a funny mix of MOBA elements with top-down and isometric old-school "rally" games. The best I can describe is a light mix of Rocket League (if Rocket League had Capture-the-Flag) with MOBA elements (some build options, different characters with different roles and abilities, 4v4, symmetric gameplay) with Rock'n'Roll Racing. It also has a bit of a Twisted Metal resemblance.
It's available on Steam and it's free to play. With free heroes on rotation and all that, but I played for one hour or so and I'm already bought a good starter vehicle that I'm somehow good on (Wildfire), and am halfway to buying another one I want - so didn't feel grindy.
Here's a link to its Steam.
Mind that this isn't a very demanding game. I went from "what the fuck is this. What the fuck is that" to doing aces/quadrakills in two hours, so comparing it to MOBAs is pushing it a bit.
A game starts in a sprint to a certain point, both teams on their own racing grid. You "race" to get the Bomb, and the team that gets the Bomb has to race to the enemy base to score, while the enemy must intercept it and try to take the bomb for themselves and score instead. Along the way there are environmental hazards, so fun ways that team fights are turned is when a team successfully (and generally, accidentally) body blocks people in said hazards.
What more can I say? It's fun, it's free, and it's pretty 'light'. I'm not sure about the community, because I only played a few matches.
A story, feel free to skip:
I discovered the game because I went to a talk about the game design process of this gamedev company on my girlfriend's university. I was very surprised I had never heard of it, especially since the company is brazilian (here's me being prejudiced with my own country). When the lead game designer did the talk and I understood they were mixing isometric 'rally' racers (which I love for some reason) with MOBA elements and making it free and multiplayer, it got me excited and proud that a company 2h from home is taking a risk - brazilian companies mostly do contract work. Although nowadays the indie scene is growing a lot around here, very few people are hearing about and seeing the games.
I really enjoyed the talk and got overly excited about game design by the end - noob that I am - and a funny moment is when I asked "I have no idea how I never heard about you guys or your game", and the lead designer kept looking at me not knowing how to respond. Forgot he doesn't know I freaking scrape forums, websites, and release lists almost monthly to find indie gems (hey, just check my threads. I have game prospector credentials!
just kidding don't do it).
Anyway, let me know what you guys think. I only played for a couple of hours, and despite that I don't enjoy some of the 2d/font/UI art much, I didn't bump into anything that turned me off.
Gameplay-wise, I think the combat could be more brutal, and more rewarding feedback-wise - making a doublekill in Overwatch feels like you're a professional, but here it doesn't feel like much.
As it's on beta (and I have no idea why it's on beta), I wonder if they will still improve on such things.
Neat game.
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Topic: Heavy Metal Machines: Mixing some MOBA with Rock'n'Roll Racing (Read 1328 times)