Trianga’s Project: Battle Splash 2.0 – Preview
Somewhere along the line, somebody out there probably had a dual screen setup for his desktop. It was brand new. He or she just had to try out the infinite possibilities of having not one, but two screens. So obviously they decided to split their favorite visual activities into two. On one screen, their all-time favorite anime was showing, on the other, wet t-shirt contests. ”Damn” this person thought to themselves. ”Wouldn’t it be great to combine these two?” A lightbulb appeared. A great idea was born. Anime girls having watery battles, making each other wet in Battle Splash.
Soothing music from soft piano and strings is welcoming you as soon as you start up Battle Splash 2.0 and join or host a game. The environment around you? Warm, reminiscent of those last few hours of daylight on a hot summer’s eve. One of the girls on the ”enemy” team is running towards you, and squirts of water are flying around your head. ”Enemy” because it all seems so friendly. The entire game’s premise is about letting players of all ages enjoy some watery fun like when you were still playing outside instead of playing games or reading reviews online. It’s the reason why the visual atmosphere and sounds will probably appeal to basically all audiences. Unless you had a really shitty childhood and hate the sound of children playing in real life.
But before you start, you get to choose a girl to play with, and each and every girl has a special ability much as in games such as the ever popular Overwatch. One girl is able to revive another, the other is able to scan the area telling you your enemy’s locations. However, in this game, it does not have much impact (yet). Mainly because of the little variation in gameplay, which also is the biggest problem with this Early Access.
See, normally a special ability in a game like this is there to turn the tide in battle. In Battle Splash 2.0, there is not much to turn. Everybody starts with a water sniper, rocket launcher, water pistol and water balloon, and basically, when you hit an opponent, he’s knocked out on the ground for about five seconds due to being wet before he respawns and continues playing. That’s it. There is barely any tension, any objective to be found. If classic (team) deathmatch is the basic game you are playing, at least you would expect some buildings to hide in, some surprising elements that change the gameplay. Sadly, your expectation is mistaking. This version is no more than running and gunning, making for a boring game once you are done sightseeing.
Granted, there is another play mode resembling capture the flag, where you essentially have to guide a robot to your base by first making him drop his health to make him follow you, and protecting him from enemies afterward. This doesn’t work too well either. The robot is rather stiff and doesn’t compare well to the distances enemies have to run after being knocked down. The robot is too fast to catch up to properly more than once, making it almost impossible to win it over to your side. Add the linear clunky gameplay to this fact, and the entire game mode doesn’t add anything extra to your experience. It feels like a lot has to change to make the game more worth your while before it officially releases.
Conclusion
Trianga’s Project: Battle Splash 2.0 seems to be very inviting on the outside. Warm and ready for social activities, like a summer’s campfire. On the inside, however, it’s rather hollow. The summer’s campfire doesn’t seem to be much more than one of those fake electrical fires with moving cut-outs. Yes, it gives some heat, but without the smell and sound of burning wood, it’s not the same. Battle Splash just misses some depth of gameplay so far. By giving the player all possible weapons and not making playing as smooth as it could be, it feels like playing something fan-made instead of a proper game. So far it’s fun for half an hour, especially if you are a bit younger, but in the long haul, it doesn’t hold up.
Trianga's Project: Battle Splash 2.0 - Preview,
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