The Riftbreaker – PAX East Preview
The Riftbreaker is a brand new base building action game developed and published by Polish based Exor Studio. We had a chance to go hands on with the game at PAX East 2019.
In The Riftbreaker, you take control of a hyper-intelligent commando who pilots a powerful mech suit. This lumbering exoskeleton known as Mr. Riggs will be used for hands on hack-and-slash and ranged offense, but also to build, repair and fortify defenses and resource gathering structures to repel enemies that attack from all areas of the map.
The ultimate goal of the game revolves around terra-forming. The player is tasked with using Mr. Riggs to build a physics defying bridge between earth and this new planet. Taking place on the colorful, vibrant and varied planet Galatea 37, players will need to traverse and navigate wild fauna and flora while keeping enemy hoards at bay.
Players will utilize a wide range of building tools to construct various bases. These structures range from solar panels, power generators and rift portals all the way to defense turret towers and barriers to defend these tiny industrial cities. By employing a complex but intuitive suite of building mechanic tools, you can easily navigate between several different building types, each serving a different purpose in completing objectives.
However with the looming threat of alien monsters on Galatea 37, you will need to balance strategy, defense and resource gathering in order to complete objectives and survive. You’ll need to think and act fast with base building as hoards of creatures are never far away. Luckily, Mr. Riggs has a robust arsenal of offensive attacks to repel alien attacks. A close range melee attack using the right trigger allows you to get up close and personal with smaller enemies. Ranged attacks can also be used. In the demo, we were able to use a rapid fire machine gun as well as an area of effect rocket launcher that was very handy against bigger monsters or larger groups of smaller monsters. The developers have noted that mini nukes and flamethrowers, among many others will be available in the final build.
The Riftbreaker is powered by Exor Studio’s proprietary engine, Scmetterling 2.0. Having built this engine from the ground up, the developers possess expert knowledge of the game’s powerhouse. This has allowed them to create something that is legitimately impressive from a visual standpoint. Detail in the environments, particle and lighting effects are all cutting edge, even in this early build of the game (this has us particularity excited to see the aforementioned mini nukes in action). The end product is sure to wow players with its graphics and visual fidelity.
We were more than intrigued by our brief time with the game at PAX East 2019. The final product is on track to deliver a well balanced mix of strategy and action all accompanied by stunning visuals. The Riftbreaker is set to launch on Steam, Xbox One and Playstation 4 in early 2020.
