On first impressions the free-to-play title from Grey Box Games, Dreadnought, could be cast into the flood of space fighter games currently saturating the market. However, first impressions are often deceiving. After having the opportunity to speak with the games development team, it can be said without a doubt that this game is a rare exception.
Dreadnought has the chance to actually change the way gamers look at spaceship warfare. Two years into development the game is graphically beautiful and almost a polished gem. When it comes to looks the game itself is stunning. The ships become a physical representation of the player through the graphic customizations. Gorgeous looking ships is nothing new in this genre, however, and where Dreadnought really shines is in its environments. The landscapes were detailed and immersive enough to be distractive as the game was played. They were not distracting in form but more so in a review piece everything must be observed, and these maps were difficult to look away from. Any gamer worth their weight in coding will tell you a beautiful game can only help provide atmosphere and what truly matters most is game play. Working closely with Intel and using the Unreal engine has allowed not only breathtaking view but also the chance to focus on just that.
Dreadnought is lush with great gameplay and exciting features. The idea of bringing three ships fully customized in looks and features into a large scale deathmatch is exhilarating to say the least. Gone are the days of being locked into a single roll or cast. Adaptive evolving gameplay is the future and the way of Dreadnought. With easy to learn controls and surprisingly fast paced combat, the game forces the player to think quickly and react even more so.
The evolution doesn’t end with the match, and back in the hanger of your ship is where the real fun begins. After the match, the player earns experience to gain levels which allows you to unlock new skills and weapons as well as loadouts for your ships. The longer you play, the more options you unlock both cosmetically and loadout wise. This feature gives an amazing amount of freedom to what you and your ship are capable of. While one ship may be a long range sniper, the exact same class ship may have a completely different skill set.
This battle system seems to give one constant thing to the gamer, hope. There was never a feeling of being crushed or anger at the snowballing team. The game pushes the player to learn, adapt and think of new ways to turn the tables on their opponent. Learning to master your favorite ship was fun rather than annoying. Movement is not too hard nor is it too simple. Targeting does not hold the player’s hand nor does it confuse them during combat. While the game itself revolves around spaceship combat, the pure size of the ships, even small ones, causes movement to feel almost nautical with the ability to move vertical.
There are two game types currently in development. A team deathmatch has players compete against another team and respawn to adapt to what is happening. In the elimination round, death is permanent but has the player come back as a small, fast fighter jet that can team up with their friends to possibly turn the tide of battle. The game currently comes with five classes of ships ranging from large destroyers to fast nimble scouts. Each class has subclasses giving even greater options and allowing the player to truly find his or her ship.
Yager Development working with SixFoot have given life to an amazing immersive spaceship warfare experience that had yet to be seen. They give us everything from our very own special ship to a guild system they call Squads which lets the player team up with their friends to fight as one organzied unit while allowing their ships to match in colours and symbols if they so choose.
As mentioned, the game will be free-to-play upon full release and is currently in its Alpha stages. There will be a real life currency that can be purchased for an in-game store, but the developers have assured it will provide no tactical advantage but will be mostly cosmetics which is a huge relief to gamers in the Free-to-Play area. The Dreadnought developers made it very clear they want to insure they respect the time their players put into the game and creating their perfect ships.
Fun is the point of gaming, and the Dreadnought team has made sure that even the beginning player can just pick up the game to enjoy it while also leaving room for hardcore players to master their craft.
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