Battle For Giostone

Overview

Battle for Giostone (BFG) is an MOBA developed by Mtech on Avalanche, offering a unique twist on games like League of Legends and Dota. Currently in open alpha, players can download the launcher and install the game to participate. There are multiple servers available based on player location.

The game's lore revolves around the Saidic, Volnic, and Arcidam Kingdoms, which initially ruled together in peace. However, with the discovery of the Giostone, conflicts arose. The Kings took turns holding the Giostone to maintain peace, but it eventually split into three parts with different powers. The successors' greed ignited a war, leading to the intervention of the god of the underworld, who transformed the dead kings into dragons guarding the Giostone. The kingdoms fell apart, and centuries later, two ideologies emerged: the Deccan and the Glaccic, battling for control of the Giostone.

BFG has low hardware requirements, making it accessible to players with older machines. However, it is currently unavailable on mobile platforms.

Gameplay

In terms of gameplay, the main menu offers options such as "Play Now" and "Collections," where players can view their collection of playable heroes. A key aspect of gameplay is the "Forge" mode, allowing players to create their own heroes using a selection of 72 abilities. Depending on the chosen skills, the forged hero takes on a specific appearance and class, offering unique dynamics and surprising opponents based on their physical appearance.

During the alpha phase, players can engage in both PvE and PvP modes. PvE mode involves fighting auto-spawning monsters in a 1v1 setting, while PvP mode supports various modes ranging from 1v1 to 5v5 matches. Ideally, the game is played in a 5v5 format, as demonstrated in previous tournaments. The controls follow the familiar MOBA format, with mouse clicks for hero movement and QWER keys for attack activations.

The objective of the game is to destroy the opposing team's base, defended by three towers in different lanes. Destroying towers in any lane enables players to attack the base, which regenerates health passively and requires assistance from auto-spawned creatures to destroy. Throughout the game, the base spawns creatures that grant gold to the player who lands the killing blow. This gold can be used to purchase items from the store, but players must return to the base to collect them.

Another crucial aspect is the Dragon, which spawns in either the top left or bottom right of the map, holding the Giostone. Defeating the Dragon and acquiring the Giostone grants the hero powerful buffs, offering an advantage in battle.

Review

In terms of review, Battle for Giostone presents a unique twist on the MOBA genre, but lacks excitement beyond the hero forging system. The game experienced some bugs during a tournament, impacting the overall experience. The requirement for manual download instead of a launcher raises potential security concerns for players.

The graphics are average, falling short of competitors like League of Legends but still satisfactory. However, the speed of attack activation on normal creatures makes it difficult to time the last hit for gold acquisition.

Regarding audio, the game handles it well, with appropriate music changes between the game and main menus, as well as sound effects for each hero's abilities.

Battle for Giostone needs improvement in video effects, graphics, and tutorials to compete in the saturated MOBA market. The game's highlights include its lore, hero forging mechanism, and the team's esports experience. Capitalizing on these strengths could help BFG gain a loyal player base, especially with the rising popularity of esports in the web3 gaming industry. However, the core gameplay needs enhancement and a way to captivate players.