Review - Predecessor

Developer: Omeda Studios

Publisher: Omeda Studios

Available on: PC (Steam, Epic Launcher), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

Predecessor is a free, online MOBA meets FPS game. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. This game is wild. With a wide array of roles, abilities, champions, and game updates, Predecessor is a game worth exploring for so many reasons! Let’s dive right into it.

Not Your Parent’s MOBA

When most think of the MOBA game genre, they think of a top-down, slow-paced, fighting back and forth over towers, and a steady climb in their personal gameplay abilities; games like League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, and even Smite. But Predecessor blows all of these out of the water, with fast mechanics, third-person viewpoint (and it is more “over the shoulder” than directly behind the character), quick buy options as well as auto-buy options, and even simpler choices for items to fit an individual playstyle or different position than what the chosen champion is made to play.

But that’s not the only thing that makes it a great game. The graphics are awesome, the servers seem to hold up well at any time of the day, and the sound effects and music are fantastic and fitting, all the while the UI is simple, yet complete. And don’t forget, while players can spend real money to purchase the various champions, they can also just keep playing the game, earning a free currency (called Amber), that can be used to buy all the champions too! This means players can focus on spending money on skins, if they want, rather than buying up champs. Just like other MOBA games, Predecessor also has a rotating group of free-to-play champions each week, usually including one or two champions from each possible position.

But Is It Cross-Platform?

Of course! Predecessor plays on all major platforms, and even supports teaming up across these systems too! Team up with four other friends, take on another team, beat down their towers, and destroy their base together. While this is great, it also leads to a big downside of the game but keep reading for the pros and cons of it.

Alright, Let’s Talk Pros and Cons

While there are plenty of pros already mentioned, they cannot be stressed enough. The gameplay is smooth, and while there is no real backstory to any of the characters, like what League of Legends or Heroes of the Storm have for their selection of champions, but to be honest, not many people care as much about reading backgrounds of characters that they play in game. Predecessor also keeps things simple by having a position selection screen for each team, as well as a combined draft pick screen, like ranked play for most games. This helps keep champion selection quick and easy, as well as allows for curation of a team that may find a way to counter their lane enemies. But that also can lead to the enemy team counter-picking too. Another great aspect of this game is that players can enjoy a nice over-the-shoulder viewpoint and can shift that viewpoint so that when aiming at other players, the champion is not centered but rather a bit more to the side. This small shift can help see more of the area in front of the champion and allow for better aiming, but it can also hinder some players if they are not ready for this shift in views, and therefore can be a bit disconcerting until players become used to that shift.

Moving to the list of cons for this game, and the top of the list is the aiming and hitbox of the champions. Both are a bit difficult to get the hang of, since the champions come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and some hit boxes look like they should be bigger or smaller than what they truly are, when aiming an ability, it can be even tougher because the odd movements that certain champions do for their abilities. The next big negative for this game is that it is not finished yet, and therefore players will enjoy plenty of small and annoying bugs that might arise too. The game plays amazingly well, but the developers still have it deemed as “in development” and are always open to hearing about bugs, glitches, balancing issues, and any other problems players may have with the game. The developers are also constantly working and putting out hotfixes during off-peak times and trying to keep the game running as smoothly as possible. But there will be problems, don’t get upset, rather report the problem and the developers will do their best to get to it, and many problems have already been addressed.

Isn’t This Game Called Paragon?

Yes and no. The original Paragon was created by Epic Games in 2016, and after two years it was shut down. Epic then made the assets for Paragon available for free so that other developers to create their own games using the same assets.

From those Paragon assets came two new games: “Paragon: The Overprime” and “Predecessor”. The same truth though is that Paragon: The Overprime followed the same route as its parent game, and as of April 2024, has shut down their services and closed the game. So, for the sake of the rest of this article, Paragon: The Overprime was shut down, and when Paragon is referenced, it will be about the original Epic game, not the short-lived secondary game.

Therefore, after the failed attempt at making the original Paragon, Predecessor was placed into production and has been in development ever since. As of the release of this article, the game is still in development and will have a full release later this year.

But it is important to note: these developers are not the same developers as with either of the two Paragon games that came before it. The developers of Predecessor are much more involved with the community through forums, Reddit, and a Discord server, and keep updating their communities. They fully intend to release Predecessor but have wanted to slowly ramp up the player base so that they can keep up with it both from a server and production standpoint, as well as player enjoyment. They state in one of their most recent articles that they do not want a huge influx of players because that would hurt the overall player experience, both with matching opponents and new player drop-off due to lag or connectivity issues on the server side.

For updates and more inclusive information about the game, visit their awesome website at Fast-paced action game that combines MOBA and FPS | Predecessor (predecessorgame.com) and you can find their social media and various ways to connect with the developers at the left side of the page. The developers even host a cool podcast and YouTube channel that helps keep players updated on news, upcoming developments, and new releases for the game too!

Final Thoughts

While similar games have crashed and burned after only a couple of years, Predecessor is a fun and solid game to play for those who enjoy the MOBA game genre, and the developers seem intent on the game being the best game they can put out. It has its fair share of issues and bugs, but the developers seem keen to make the game into something the two previous versions did not, which is to be a great experience for the players. Predecessor is a quick download, and can be found on all major game platforms, such as Playstation and Xbox game stores, and has multiple ways to download it for PC such as Steam and the Epic Games Store, even the game’s website.

In the opinion of this writer, Predecessor is a game worth trying, whether you enjoy MOBAs or are just looking for games to play that are low-cost and cross-platform. Predecessor delivers a great gaming experience, and the developers have a lot of amazing plans for this game too!

PREDECESSOR IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.