Summary
Live-service games have gotten a pretty bad rap over the years, as some indeed deliver long-term substance over style, but many get lost in monetary pursuits and visions of size that are more ambitious than they are realistic. As a live-service game itself, Remedy Entertainment’s upcoming online co-op shooterFBC: Firebreakhas a chance to fall into that category of failed experiments, as the model continues to prove that it’s not inherently a viable way to sustain a game long-term. However, based on earlypreviews ofFBC: Firebreakand its gameplay loop, it may have what it takes to avoid that stigma altogether.
The core ofFBC: Firebreak’s gameplay loop revolves around its missions, which it refers to as “Jobs.” While there are multiple unique Jobs for players to choose from before beginning a session, there’s still a chance that the gameplay loop becomes repetitive after a while. That being said,FBC: Firebreak’s Jobs are structured in such a way that they feel more like self-contained expeditions reminiscent of a rogue-lite game. In an industry where many live-service games tie progression to battle passes and seasonal updates, this might be the refreshing innovation thatFBC: Firebreakneeds to survive.
FBC: Firebreak’s Jobs Make Every Mission Feel Like Its Own Adventure
Threat and Clearance Levels Shift the Flow of Play
One of the main waysFBC: Firebreakensures each session is unique is by allowing players to change the Threat Level and Clearance Level of the Job they’ve selected. Together, a Job’s Threat Level and Clearance Level can fundamentally change its size, challenge, and pacing, thereby decreasing the chances of themfeeling repetitivetoo quickly.
Specifically, a Job’s Threat Level alters its difficulty. However, this is anything but a straightforwarddifficulty change. In many other live-service games, and almost any game for that matter, changing the difficulty might only increase the amount of health enemies have and the amount of damage players can deal and receive. InFBC: Firebreak, on the other hand, higher Threat Levels can not only mean more enemies will appear, but it can also mean different types of enemies appear as well. In the end, then, a Job’s Threat Level alone can change the experience entirely.
Essentially,FBC: Firebreakhandles difficulty in a similar way toDestiny 2, which sees unique, more challenging enemies spawning on higher difficulties.
A Job’s Clearance Level inFBC: Firebreakcan change it even more than its Threat Level can. As players increase the Clearance Level for a Job inFBC: Firebreak, they simultaneously make it so that more of that level is eventually opened to them. At Clearance Level 1, for example, players will only have access to the level’s first room and will only be required to complete one main objective. On Clearance Level 4, however, they will travel through four separate rooms in the Job, each of which has its own objective. This even further allows players tomake each game session unique, even down to deciding how long they wish to play.
Less of a Grind, More of a Gauntlet
In other words,FBC: Firebreak’s Jobs don’t just offer simple, replayable content like otherlive-service gamesmight. Instead, they offer a system that thrives on experimentation and situational needs and desires. By letting players customize their session length and intensity through Clearance and Threat Levels,FBC: Firebreaktakes familiar live-service repetition and turns it into something that feels closer to a structured gauntlet than an endless grind. In the end, that approach may be what givesFBC: Firebreaka real shot at breaking out of the increasingly disreputable live-service mold.
