Brawlhalla
| Brawlhalla | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Blue Mammoth Games |
| Publisher(s) | Blue Mammoth Games |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4 |
| Release |
Windows
PS4
|
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer, cooperative |
Brawlhalla is a free-to-play fighting game developed and published by Blue Mammoth Games for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and PlayStation 4. The game was first shown at PAX East in April 2014, and went into alpha later that month.[1] An open beta was released in November 2015, with plans to do a full release in 2017.[2]
Gameplay
In all of Brawlhalla's gamemodes, the goal is to knock one's opponent off the stage, comparable to Super Smash Bros. This can be done by applying damage on them repeatedly. Damage can be seen on the color display around the opponent's character icon, which goes from white to red as the player continues to get hit. The closer the color is to red, the further the player will be knocked back, until they eventually get knocked out. Getting knocked off the stage will result in the player losing a stock or life. The player who loses all of their stocks first, loses the match.
The game supports both local and online play. Competitive players can compete 1 on 1 to climb through the rankings. They can also find a partner to play against other duos to increase their collaborative rank. Brawhalla also has several casual modes : Free-For-All, 1v1 Strikeout and Experimental 1v1. Free-For-All is a chaotic mode where 4 players knock each other out to gain points. In 1v1 Strikeout, players pick 3 characters which they play for 1 stock each. Experimental 1v1 allows players to test out upcoming features against each other. Custom games can be hosted online and locally, they support up to 8 players per match, experimental maps and region changing.
Brawlhalla features simpler controls and one-button special moves. This allows new players to pick up the game quickly. Controls include movement keys and buttons for attacking, performing special moves, picking up or throwing weapons and dodging. Keys can be rebound for keyboard and a large variety of controllers.
Players can move by running left, right and jumping. Players can perform up to 2 quick consecutive dodges, either sideways or vertically. It is also possible to dodge right after an attack to keep pressure on the opponent. Once in the air, the player has the following options : to perform a total of 3 recovery moves or jumps, to perform a directional air-dodge, to perform a grounded move in the air by using a "gravity-cancel" and to fast-fall. It is also possible to hold on to the sides of stages.
During a match, weapons fall from the sky randomly and can be picked up by the players. All of Brawlhalla's characters can use 2 weapons out of 10 to fight each other. Weapons include Blasters, Katars and Rocket Lance. Blasters perform well at a distance from the opponent, while Katars are more effective up close. Rocket Lance allows for quick traversal of the stage. Players can also choose to fight without a weapon, using moves which are shared across all characters. Weapons can also be thrown to interrupt the enemy's moves or to make it difficult for them to get back to the stage. Each character has 3 special or "signature" moves per weapon, for a total of 6 per character.
Four stats are assigned to each character : Strength, Dexterity, Defense and Speed. The combination of these stats determines the strengths and weaknesses of a character and affects how it's played, and can be slightly modified using stances.
2016 World Championship
The Brawlhalla World Championship is an official $50,000 tournament held by Blue Mammoth Games at their end of the year event, BCX (Brawlhalla Championship Expo). There were over 400 people in attendance. Developers, streaming personalities, community artists, esports fans, and competitors all came together for a weekend of Brawlhalla fun.
The event took place at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta in the United States. Players from around the world competed locally from November 11–13.[3] The World Championship was separated into two separate open tournaments (1v1 and 2v2), each of which had a prize pool of $25,000, adding up to a grand total of $50,000.
Professional competition
While minor events have been held by the community since its closed beta launch, Blue Mammoth Games now hosts their own official competitive events.
In May 2016, they led off with the Brawlhalla Championship Series or "BCS". It was a series of 21 weekly online tournaments starting on June 18.[4] The tournaments were held on both North American and European servers, where players competed in 1v1 and 2v2 modes. For each tournament, a prize pool of $1,000 was divided among the top eight players. Placements in each BCS event earned players a ranking which was used at the end of the series to seed them into the World Championship tournament. Additionally, Regional Qualifier 1v1 tournaments were held, where the winner of each regional event earned a plane ticket and hotel room for the World Championship.
In early 2017, Blue Mammoth Games announced the Brawlhalla Circuit, a worldwide circuit of official competitive Brawlhalla tournaments hosted by several organizations sanctioned by Blue Mammoth Games. Players who compete in Brawlhalla Circuit events will be awarded Circuit Points. Players with the highest points from each region at the end of the season will earn a spot in the $100,000 32 player Brawlhalla World Championship in November. A player can also earn a spot in the Brawlhalla World Championship by winning a Regional Qualifer, or placing Top 3 in the BCX Open tournament at BCX.