For Honor Closed Beta – What You Need to Know

Last week we were given the chance to have another go at the newest game coming from the Ubisoft camp, For Honor, and dear Lord was I impressed.

For those of you who may not be aware, For Honor is a third-person hack and slash which lets you play as a Knight, a Viking or a Samurai and pits them against each other in a series of brutal matches. But what really makes this game stand out is the new Art of Combat fighting system which takes it away from the route of Dynasty Warriors and allows a more tactical feel to the gameplay.

I was lucky enough to play the Alpha way back before I was writing for CV and I can remember being hugely impressed with the game then, but this time, For Honor felt more like the game it promised to be.

The graphics of For Honor are truly breathtaking. Every level feels like a battlefield with NPC’s being cut down around you and towers blowing up from off-screen bombardment. It is obvious from playing the Beta that the developers have really examined the history and heritage of each race to ensure their surroundings are as accurate as possible. But where this game really does find itself is the gameplay itself.

When the Art of Combat was first advertised, I found myself thinking that it was going to be extremely complicated and will take away the entertainment value away from the game. However, whilst playing the Beta, I realised I couldn’t have been more wrong. Whilst fighting other characters and generals, you get the impression you are fighting a war within a war. Timing is everything and picking the right time to use a heavy strike or quick attack is key. Although initially it took a few matches to grasp this concept, once you have, it really does make For Honor more enjoyable.

For Honor also includes four playable characters for each race. Each of the playable characters has their own style of play from the quick and nimble Orochi from the Samurai faction to the lumbering Raider for the Viking; each one offers a different experience each time you pick up the controller.

However, even with all the good points, this game still had some glaring holes that Ubisoft really need to patch up. The matchmaking system is completely flawed, to the extent that I was put into a match at level 2 with three level 15 players. It is safe to say that I had the snot beaten out of me on a regular basis.

There was also an issue with the servers, in the fact that they just didn’t work. I was kicked out of matches, unable to connect to games and on one occasion couldn’t even connect to the game itself. If Ubisoft are going to have a Beta that revolves around the multiplayer aspect, then they need to ensure that it is going to work.

Finally, the option for in-game purchases was again completely obvious as you need gold coins to unlock characters and equipment, yet you gain a pitiful amount from completed matches. Figures.

Putting all that to one side, For Honor is truly shaping up to be one of the dark horses of this year’s game releases and it offers a breath of fresh air to a genre that some feel has been hammered to death.