Consoles: Ps4, Xbox One, PC

Genre: Lobbied Hack and Slash

For Honor has had a bit of a bumpy pre-launch, but for those of us still excited to see the game’s release, let’s compile what we know.

The Basics

There are 3 warring factions in For Honor, The Legion, The Chosen, and The Warborn. These are meant to represent knights, samurai and vikings. It all sounds a little cheesy, and players were wary that Ubisoft would be doing a little culture stomping as a cheap gimick. It appears, however, that they have put quite a bit of care into these factions.

For Honor is all about the combat. Once the player has chosen a hero from their faction, they start a match with a mob of weaker AI units. This serves to transform the map into a battleground, and push tactical gameplay. When confronting another hero, the player enters a duel state and responds in real time to their opponent’s actions.

Most of our current footage is multiplayer, but there will be a single player campaign for each faction. Looks like we’ll all have one bad guy in common to hate. Here’s a look at a mission from around halfway through the Viking campaign, stay away if you don’t want spoilers:

 

The Heroes

Each faction has four heroes to choose from, for a total of 12 options. After surfing through piles of closed beta players, there is hardly a complaint about balance issues. It appears each has their strengths and weaknesses, and Ubisoft has really put some effort into making sure that none stand above the rest.

Gender locked heroes are unconfirmed, but highly speculated. It seems that the majority of the player’s hero options will be able to be either male or female, with the more specialized heroes locked.  

It will take some effort to learn each hero, and is highly recommended to pick one and stick with it until you’re comfortable. The heroes do represent different play styles, but there are plenty of options within each faction. You’ll start the game with the simplest to learn of each faction, with the Warden of the Knights being the most well-rounded. 

 

The Combat

Combat is the backbone of this game. If you enjoy the mechanics of fighting games, and the strategy of battleground titles, this is a game you should consider picking up. 

For Honor implements a unique combat system called The Art of Battle. It allows the player to fight as if they were actually holding the weapon, in real time and in response to multiple strong enemies. The combat against the weaker AI units appears to use an Assassin’s Creed style system, for a more run and gun approach. 

Each hero has different move sets, as well as varying speed and power. Learning how to play each will take some time, and learning how to fight each will take even more. Tutorials award experience for your first play through, so it’s worth the effort to run through the ones for your hero of choice.  

 

The Strategy

 For Honor will have several multiplayer modes, but the heart of it all will be 4v4 Dominion. Each team must take and hold control of as much of the map as they can. After they’ve accumulated a certain amount of points by holding these areas – and slaughtering their enemies – the opposing team will no longer be able to respawn. If they manage to hunt the remaining players down, without them turning the tide, their team will win the match. 

This appears to be the only mode where player’s scavenged gear will matter, leaving 2v2 Brawl and 1v1 Duel for those that want to skip the RPG elements. 

The Problems

After a nice day of Beta testing, many players are sad to report that For Honor still has no dedicated servers. Instead, the game relies on a Peer to Peer server set up and disconnects are frequent. They have also failed to implement any penalties for dropping out of a match, which will create its own problems, but is likely linked to their disconnect issues.  

Unfortunately, Ubisoft is taking a season pass approach to their upcoming content. It’s possible to pre-order a $100 version of the game with everything included, but we all know the risks you run with this option. Standard pre-orders from any of the big retailers will come with a couple nice outfits for your heroes, and GameStop will even give you a pin. 

If you’re experiencing a touch of deja-vu with their business model, you’re not the only one. Maybe someday game releases will Evolve into something a little more reliable. 

 Have you been playing the Beta? Already pre-ordered? If you’re interested in picking this game up, let us know in the comment section below.