The Basics

LawBreakers Guide: What you need to know

Cliff Bleszinski just can’t stay out of video games. The artist formerly known as Cliffy B put an early end to his early retirement two years ago, founding a new studio called Boss Key Productions and setting to work on a brand new shooter. Drawing inspiration from his work on Epic games like Unreal and Gears of War, that shooter is LawBreakers, and we recently got the chance to check out its closed alpha.

LawBreakers is a competitive shooter with unique hero classes that all have their own special abilities. A nearly apocalyptic event has destroyed the moon, and in the aftermath crime has run rampant while gravity has gone crazy, so two entirely different sets of laws are being broken here. In the chaos, you’ll take up arms as either the Law or the Breakers, forming teams to take control of a world gone mad.

A class-based, team-driven first person shooter certainly isn’t novel at this point in time, but LawBreakers distinguishes itself in some very meaningful ways. The gravity anomalies that build the setting also change the maps, giving you zero-G environments to navigate and have shootouts in. And while team composition and coordination are important, there aren’t support or defense classes. This is a game where any well-played character can wipe out the entire enemy team.

Gameplay

There are currently four classes, and each gets their own weapons and abilities with which to take on the opposition. From blades and shotguns to rocket launchers and lightning guns, they can all deal out very effective punishment. Abilities managed by cooldowns include both attack and defense options, as well as mobility effects like jetpacks and grappling hooks. One of the most surprising features is the ability to blindfire behind your character, which lets you get off some wild attacks on pursuing enemies.

But blindfire has another, more important use. Each map has zero-G areas where bullets fired affect your momentum and mobility. You have to manage the propulsion weapon fire gives you with your attempts to take out enemy players. Moving through low gravity areas and putting together a good flow through the arenas feels fantastic even in this early version of the game.

The only mode available in the early alpha is called Overcharge, and tasks your team with collecting a battery that spawns in the middle of the map, returning it to your spawn point, and defending it while it charges. The battery will keep its charge even once it’s stolen, which means that the closing minutes of a match are far more essential for victory than any other part.

Classes

The Assassin is a high-damage, low health class that can destroy opponents at short and melee range. Her blades will rip apart anybody who gets too close, and her shotgun has multiple firing modes, making it a very versatile weapon. She’s also got a ton of mobility options, include a short-range dash that recharges in three steps (stop me if you’ve heard that one before), and a grappling hook lets her swing all the way around the exterior of a map to flank the enemy team. Her most powerful ability lets you briefly see through walls and steal health from enemies.

The Enforcer is your assault rifle and pistol-based soldier. His Distortion Field at first just seems like a standard sprint ability, but it also increases the speed of nearby teammates. Electromag Charge launches a grenade-like pulse that prevents enemies from using their abilities. The Enforcer’s strongest ability unleashes a barrage of homing Bloodhound rockets.

If you’re looking for brute strength, the Titan is what you’re looking for. They’ll fire rocket launchers or get in close to fry enemies with a chain-lightning gun. The Neutron Mine will pull enemies into its center, making them sitting ducks for the Titan’s leaping charge attack. The ultimate ability will turn you into a raging berserker with tons of health and a short-range lightning charge.

The Vanguard is the game’s most mobile class. She has a jetpack that will let her speed through the skies, putting her in position to rain down fire with a minigun, grenades, or a short-range pulse attack. Once she’s in the air, she can unleash the Starfall ability to crash down on and obliterate enemies.

System Requirements

MINIMUM:

OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme CPU QX6850/AMD A8-3870k (Quad Core CPU’s)
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 660, AMD Radeon 7870
DirectX: Version 11
Additional Notes: Minimum specs listed are based on pre-alpha game build and subject to change.

RECOMMENDED:

OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
Processor: Intel Core i7 -4790
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 970, AMD Radeon R9 290
DirectX: Version 11
Additional Notes: Recommended specs optimized for 90FPS. With a high end card like a Nvidia GTX 980 Ti the game should run at 144hz.

Release Info

LawBreakers is currently in a very early state, with the closed alpha slowly rolling out to more and more players. There was a time where it was to be a free-to-play game, but is now slated for a traditional, paid release. Boss Key hopes to have the game available on Steam Early Access sometime this fall.

Additional Thoughts

It’s worth noting that the alpha is actually that–an alpha. The game is in a very early state, and while it already looks and feels good, it’s still got a lot of balance, UI, and matchmaking issues to work out. The most notable issue right now is a lack of situational awareness. It’s tough to tell the classes apart at a glance, and so it’s often difficult to identify incoming attacks and tell what’s happening when you’re getting taken out.