FBC: Firebreak Review (nanobrewer)
I'd give this a recommendation with reservations.
This game kind of just throws you into the fire. There are some parts of scenarios that some of my random teammates seemed clueless about (how to use the heaters or fill barrels).
Some of the game mechanics seem to either be lost or I just had maliciously lazy teammates (Fixers not using their tools to fix things, Splashers not putting out teammates that are on fire, etc)
It's a blast to play with friends in voice chat. It can definitely be played solo or as a duo, but it 100% was made to be a trio. I played in a duo and while we managed to get through scenarios, we kept noticing how we wish we had a third.
The progression system is very grindy. You're stuck with some really uninspired weapons for a long time, and when you unlock new weapons, they're also low tier and need more grinding to upgrade.
There is "research" scattered around an dropped by mini bosses which help speed up progression, but sometimes in the midst of chaos it can be overlooked/missed.
The first 3 campaigns (Hot Fix, Paper Chase, and Ground Control) all are fun enough. The final two, Frequency Shift and Freezer Duty, felt a bit half-baked and super repetitive.
The replayability of this game lies in the desire to unlock better weapons and cosmetics and increasing difficulty and playing with corrupted items.
If you're playing with primarily solo or with pick up groups, you'll probably grow stale of the content super quick. It's definitely one game to keep in rotation with friends, though.
It's goofy, chaotic, and provides just enough challenge to be fun without being frustrating.
I'm looking forward to the additonal planned content, but hope Remedy puts a bit more thought into them. There's a lot of potential here.