PREVIEW – Ubisoft unveiled For Honor at last year’s E3, and it looked stunning, awesome and interesting. It seemed like a combination of Deadliest Warriors, and Dynasty Warriors, but with great graphics, and more deeper combat compared to the hack and slashy nature of the previously mentioned title. Will it turn out to be a fun game, or should we just forget For Honor as a boring experiment to bring Deadliest Warriors sequel to consoles? Find out here!

For Honor is an alternative universe brawler, where due to the machinations of a god, and a cataclysmic event, all three factions end up trying to survive in this new harsh world, and are constantly battling each other. The story is paper-thin, but will probably get the job done, as a way to ease the players into the multiplayer section of the game. Not much has been revealed of the story though, other than the brief introductions, and the CGI trailer which details the cataclysm.

A fine duel? Brawling, or just Dominating!

The alpha allows the player to try out all three faction’s classes.  The Warden – a pretty straight forward knight with basic move sets. Vanguard who is a hulking Viking with a giant axe that pummels every down to a pulp. Kensei who is a Samurai with a huge range, and rather fast attacks. A Conqueror who has a giant shield and mace to bash in the heads of his enemies. Berserker who is mostly a counter melee fighter, and finally Orochi who is the best character to parry within the game.

All of the characters have different roles, weaknesses, and strengths in the game. Although these will depend on the game mode, as certain skills are disabled for Duel and Brawl mode. Our characters can be customized with gear that is given to us after a battle. Some are purely cosmetic. However a few do provide more than just a simple reskin. A blade might be stronger, and armor may provide quicker respawn, all of these gears are random, and they do not provide a huge boost against non-geared players.

For Honor Alpha features three game modes for the multiplayer section, plus a practice mode. All three modes can be done via Players VS Player or even Player vs. AI. Duel and Brawl is a five round match against an opposing player or players; where the last man (team) standing wins the round. Dominion is, however, an entirely different beast. It is a 4vs4 game mode, where huge groups of enemy AI go up against each other with siege weapons, and with the players trying to capture points to secure a victory.

1vs1 and 2vs2 modes rely on tension. It is unbelievably satisfying when you are able to smash, or cut the enemy player to pieces. Parrying, dodging, and the heavy attacks all have weight to them, and in 4v4 when the player goes up against the small AI grunts, it is visceral. The game looks a tad bit boring when watching it on the footage, but when actually playing it, the excitement goes through the roof. It will take some time to get used to the combat system, though, as it is a rather new way of melee combat.

The smell of death, and the sight of guts

While most games such as Chivalry, or Mount and Blade do try to recreate the feeling of epic battles they never look that good, or provide weight behind the hits. For Honor can pull off being surprisingly good looking, well optimized, and has a deep combat that also reflects in the animation of the swings, kicks, punches, and rolls. The terrain is highly detailed and looks gorgeous on the PS4. The effects, such as fire, sparks when the swords hit, and character detail really shows that this game is a Triple A title, and not an indie game or an F2P game.  Everything clicks together almost perfectly, but even the minor issues are not that big of a deal.

The sound and music design is also magnificent and is almost DICE quality. With each swing and each clank of metal when two swords hit against each other, it is simply exhilarating. The music is epic, though it does sound a bit generic (and in duel mode, I would just use Spotify and listen to Queen’s Princes of the Universe – for an added special effect).

The environment is well varied, and does not get bogged down in the simple (large plain field, or one generic castle), it instead shifts around three maps that are varied with traps, and pits, plus some fire that we can kick the enemy into. The levels are dynamic and are not clean. Instead, they are dirty, broken and torn, so it adds to the atmosphere of the game.

For Honor does not skimp on the visuals, and will be one of the better-looking games of 2017.

An arrow to the knee

While the Alpha is a magnificent experience, there is a few hiccups, and issue that I feel need to be addressed. 1vs1 and 2vs2 are epic, and tense, requiring skill and determination. While 4vs4 ends up being a complete mess and is not the most enjoyable part of the game, which is ironic since this is the mode that the game is being advertised with on the previews.

The problem with 4vs4 is that sparing 1v1 is okay, but 2vs1 and more is just impossible (which is the point), but players just gank up on lone players trying to cap points. So it ends up with people being chased around. There is a strange lack of honor in For Honor‘s 4vs4 mode, and I hope the developers will fix that, by either buffing the grunt AI’s, or by some other way.

The customization is also neat, but in-game menus are a bit of hassle to navigate through, plus it is weird that in your account you can setup the different characters with the acquired gear, but cannot make an “Always Select” option. As such everytime a new match is created, you have to select your fighter, which is not a big deal, but if I want to keep playing as Kensei, I should be able to toggle that option.

The graphics look awesome, but while the maps show off as being dynamic, they lack some destruction physics. I’m also disappointed as to currently there is no way to just have massive AI battles in other modes, as the 4vs4 is a bit too chaotic, or maybe have the option to mix more AI’s into the mix, maybe 1vs1 plus 3 AI’s on both teams. Still, these are not huge problems, but these hopefully will be fixed, and the menu should be streamlined a little.

Only one can remain!

For Honor is a surprise for many, and even to me. It felt a bit simplistic on the footage, but when playing it, the game shines. 2017 cannot come soon enough for this beastly looking melee combat product.

Ubisoft’s new IP is a well thought out product, with interesting mechanics, locations, and characters. It is like every ten-year old’s dream game.

-Dante-

Publisher: Ubisoft

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Genre: Hack N’Slash

Relase date: February 14, 2017