Awesomenauts

Awesomenauts can best be described as “enthusiastically mediocre.” It is a game that clearly has a semblance of ambition that, when implemented, creates a surprisingly listless experience. There is ostensive artistic competence, and yet the style is exceptionally unoriginal. The visual presentation is polished, but the sound is uneven and hackneyed. The gameplay is unique, yet it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. The list goes on and on, when examining the areas where this game could have shined, but fell short.

Awesomenauts takes place in a distant future, in which mining is the galaxy’s biggest and most competitive industry. Mining corporations are at constant war with each other, enlisting the aid of mercenaries to do their dirty work.

Aside from a similar synopsis in the game’s opening, there is little context or background given to the action to come. The depth of this game’s universe is not a focal point of the experience, nor does it necessarily need to be. The first problem rears its head, however, in the artistic execution of this premise. To put it bluntly, it is starkly generic. It has such “riveting” concepts as “space cowboys,” bulky robots, and frog-like aliens (haven’t seen those things before, right?). Stylistically, it is as cliché as anything “space themed” can strive to be.

The presentation, though tired and uninspired, is not sloppy, at least not entirely. The game runs at a perfect 60 frames per second, the animations are smooth, and the environments are well detailed. However, one misstep that hits you within the first 5 seconds is the voice acting, which ranges from grading to tolerable. While the sound effects and musical score are decent enough, the characters present a mild annoyance.

Now, it should be noted that none of these presentation/stylistic issues are anywhere approaching “deal breakers.” Engaging, addictive gameplay can encourage one to overlook such shortcomings and even render them moot, in games such as this. Ironically, the gameplay in Awesomenauts seems to suffer from being too atypical for its own good, and, lacking the addictive spark of other co-op titles, it meanders in a sad realm between nuanced concepts and lackluster playability.

The goal of the game, in short, is to destroy your enemy’s core, as they are also targeting yours. These cores are located on opposite sides of a 2D map, in which the players (three on each team) battle it out. On the surface, this seems like a safe and simple premise, with a fair amount of potential. It even throws in a bit of character progression (emphasis on “a bit”). Somehow, though, all of this doesn’t play out in a way that truly arrests the gamer’s attention and proclivity for online competition. All of this is surprising, considering the fact that the developer, Ronimo Games, is also responsible for the game Swords and Soldiers, which I recall being much more comprehensive and engaging.

Throughout the stage, there are turrets, for each team, that impede your onslaught, and can efficiently tear players to ribbons. In order for the player to land blows against the deadly machines, they must use “drones” as cannon fodder. They spawn periodically and march tirelessly towards the enemy stronghold to their inevitable demises. So, if unimpeded by enemy players, all one has to do is wait for their drones to arrive, land some hits before the drones are put out of commission, retreat, and repeat. Once you realize that what I have just described to you comprises virtually the entire game, is when you will know if Awesomenauts is up your alley. True, there are nuances here and there, a few character abilities to mess with, and, of course, other players to contend with, but even combined these do not amount to creating a tactically rewarding experience. This is a problem that stems from the game’s strangely limited concept. It is analogous to a tower defense game, with one enemy type, and the confrontations with enemy turrets evoke the same level of strategic immersion as the most monotonous MMO boss battles.

Being slightly less lethargic than the strategic elements, the combat, I can at least say, controls well. It doesn’t suffer from poor mechanics, but it is simply not engaging. Most PVP confrontations result in both plays leaping up and down, spamming their two attacks, usually until a third party intervenes (being either a turret or another enemy player) ultimately making the confrontation moot. Calling a game “un-rage-able” (meaning that it is incapable of inducing anger, even in crushing defeat) can be a compliment or the ultimate insult to a multiplayer experience. Either the player is either so euphoric that the outcome of the game does not take too much precedence (E.G. Littlebigplanet 2), or the gamer is so apathetic and generally uninterested, that the outcome is essentially irrelevant (E.G. Operation Raccoon City). Awesomenauts leans towards the latter, as there is little mirth to be had in the slaughtering of one’s enemies, little consequence in being killed by them, and seldom tactical motivation to engage them. Enemy players amount to a passing annoyance, at best, and a major annoyance when they decide to spam certain special moves, namely the Holo-Bull (don’t ask).

As I inferred earlier, the character customization is also deficient. Throughout the match, “solar” points are earned, either by individuals fulfilling certain tasks or collectively, by destroying turrets and progressing in the level. These points are spent in order to buy upgrades to one’s weapons, special moves, and various stats. The “kicker” is that these stat upgrades dissipate as soon as the match is finished. Thankfully, solar points are granted to you if you enter a match late, the quantity being contingent on how long the match has been going on. This means that you aren’t thrown into a game where everyone hopelessly out-guns you. So, by design, this system doesn’t present any crucial balance issues, but this security comes at a cost.

With a temporary character progression system, such this, it allows the player to bolster their stats within a match, while not having to contend with an online community of highly seasoned “elite” players, exploiting every level-based perk to the maximum extent. While upgrades in multiplayer games have proven to be one our most disdained vices, they also help to motivate and intrigue players into progressing further. This is why it has become so prevalent in this generation. Awesomenauts’ temporary system is bereft of such intrigue, seemingly for the sake of “balance.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel at home in a game whose propensity for competitiveness is lukewarm at best and is in dire need of intrigue and depth.

Now, after giving the game, what many could consider, a thorough, critical thrashing, it might be assumed that I think Awesomenauts is a terrible game. This is not quite an accurate summation. I certainly would not consider it to be a “good” game, nor would I recommend it, as there are proverbial mountains of multiplayer games on steam, PSN, and Xbox Live, of similar genres and play-styles, within the same price range, and of far better quality. For example, Ronimo Game’s previous title, Swords and Soldiers would be a much wiser purchase, in this reviewer’s humble opinion. Despite all of the shortcomings in Awesomenauts, the controls and mechanics, once again, are not incompetent, nor is the overall presentation, albeit generic. There is still a semblance of fun to be had and it is possible that this game will garner a humble fan following. I will certainly not be among them, though I still see budding talent in Ronimo Games, and I hope they reach their true potential in their future projects.