Atlas Reactor

Trion Worlds certainly has a knack for crafting quality online experiences. Exploding onto the scene with Rift in 2011, the studio soon established themselves as competitors even to the likes of Blizzard through their fantasy MMO. Atlas Reactor, the company's latest project, sets out to innovate the saturated MOBA genre, implementing a heavy focus on tactical turn-based strategy.

Taking centre stage are 4v4 tactical team deathmatches which demand careful planning and cooperation to gain an upper hand over your opponents. Its turn-based structure translates surprisingly well into the PvP format as there is a lack of waiting times between turns, making the experience feel incredibly fluid. During each turn you have just twenty seconds to either setup traps, rough up your opponents, or blaze a path to safety. Matches fortunately don't overstay their welcome either, as the winner is declared as the first to reach five kills or by gaining the highest kill count by the end of the twentieth round.

Its story-driven tutorial works as a promising setup, but even with its clear guidance it's very likely that you'll be left feeling bewildered during your first handful of matches. One of the most challenging aspects to grasp initially is that turns are split into a series of distinct phases. At the start of a round is the prep phase, where you can lay down traps and prepare for the oncoming rush of your opponents. Dash phase is next, and here, as the name suggests, you can choose to dash out the way if you have the sneaking suspicion that your enemies may be about to attack you. Then there is attack phase, where you plan your assault, followed by a movement phase where you can scurry behind cover after inflicting damage.

Before entering the arena, you have the option to tweak your character's skins, catalysts, and mods within the loadout menu. Skins are fortunately more than just simple recolouring of characters and work to significantly alter their appearance. Each character carries its own set of abilities and you can mod them to give different effects. For example, this could change the secondary effect on an ability by either slowing down all enemies that are hit, or by making them weaker until the next turn. Catalysts are selected abilities that can be used momentarily during any point of the match and have effects like restoring your health for a number of turns, or allowing you to teleport certain distances.

Atlas Reactor's dynamic cel-shaded visuals showcase a burst of energy, but do little to distinguish the experience aesthetically from competing games like Battleborn and even Overwatch. Its claustrophobic battle areas are vibrant and maliciously crafted, but besides each receiving a fresh lick of paint, there is a lack of variation with each sharing a similar template. A pulsating electronic soundtrack unpins the sequence of menu screens, but during battles it shifts tones to a more subtle and atmospheric feel, providing headroom for the crash of explosions and the piercing ring of firearms.

Playable characters known as freelancers each have their distinctive look and personality, which is rooted in classic sci-fi. There's a broad scope of characters to choose between, spanning from heavily armoured war machines to plasma-spewing beasts. Among our favourites are Pup, a fierce robotic canine with a deafening yowl, and Dr. Finn, a creature part fish and part robot that wields a blaster loaded with electric eels. All freelancers carry their own stats and are divided into three classes; support, frontline and firepower. Support freelancers typically have more healing moves, frontline have more melee abilities, and firepower characters harness more long distance attacks.

Premium players have access to the full roster of 23 player characters, and for those sampling the experience there are six available upfront. Those on the other side of the pay wall shouldn't get too comfortable with their selection of freelancers on a rotation system, mixing up what is available on a weekly basis. It may be frustrating for some but isn't necessarily to the game's discredit, as it does encourage you to experiment with different play-styles and allows you to trial all characters within the premium package.

After matches you'll receive XP for your efforts which contributes towards levelling up and unlocking additional vanity items and taunts. When levelling up you'll receive loot matrices that respond similarly to battle packs in Battlefield 4, in the sense that they give you a series of randomised items varying in rarity. With the title featuring varied daily challenges, there's plenty of ways to rack up XP and ascend to the optimum level. Unfortunately for them, those sitting outside the premium camp are restricted from using the in-game currency on unlocking additional skins, banners and logos.

For those looking to sharpen their skills there are two offline modes; practice and bots vs, where you can set the proficiency of your AI attacks and even bring a friend along for the ride. What is disappointing is that besides these two offline modes and the main 4v4 deathmatches, there is a lack of match types to delve into. Replayability would certainly be enhanced if there were a few other matches types such as 1v1 battles, which would seriously shake up the main dynamics of the game and provide more variation.

Atlas Reactor's refreshing tactical turn-based gameplay is not to be ignored, despite its free-to-play tagline. Its challenging cooperative battles are succinct and require you to carefully coordinate your efforts if you're to guide your team to victory. A standout cast of characters and a vividly colourful cel-shaded art-style work to inject a sense of personality into proceedings, creating a hugely enjoyable experience. There may be a lack of gameplay modes and it can take a while to get into the swing of things, but as it stands, especially considering there's no upfront costs, it's certainly worth checking out.