Lemnis Gate, the preview: four-dimensional chess with firearms
Lemnis Gate, the preview
If there is a damn difficult genre to evolve and that from year to year now seems to always repeat the same canons with marginal variations, it is that of the first person shooter. Don't get us wrong, following established structures many FPS have been able to refine their mechanics in exceptional ways, but for something objectively "new" in a field where almost everything has been tested, the solution is often to get out of the sowing aiming at hybridization.In a sea of derivatives, however, there are exceptions to the rule, and in particular there is a title that has jumped to the top of our list of interests since the first presentation. It's called Lemnis Gate and its concept is crystal clear: combining turn-based strategy with the mechanics of a competitive shooter. And if this union seems impossible to you, today we are here to tell you that this curious work seems capable of completing it without tragic consequences and that we have had the opportunity to try it on our skin. Indeed, in the preview of Lemnis Gate we will tell you more: it is so well thought out that it has what it takes to become a small cult, if well supported.
The right order to fire
A Lemnis Gate Shooting Now, we're not crazy when it comes to a turn based shooter. The Lemnis Gate system revolves around a concept that is as immediate as it is difficult to apply: in one-on-one or two-on-two games, players perform specific actions during a 25-second round; what is done becomes permanent within that time loop, and all subsequent turns can act by ignoring it or intervening directly to interrupt the previous player's actions. At the end of the available rounds, the winner is the one who has managed to complete the objective necessary to win the game several times.To this concept add a system of hero shooter classes, variable weapons based on the character used and, in fact, classic shooter objectives such as the destruction of some generators in the map or the recovery of certain objects to bring base. Lemnis Gate is an FPS where it is mandatory to carefully weigh everything done, to make sure you complete the mission without the opponent breaking the eggs in your basket in the following rounds.
Some of the weapons of Lemnis Gate Witty accomplishing such a formula is not for everyone, as already specified. Unbalanced classes with overly useful skills could break all equilibrium, poorly structured maps would allow certain players to abuse their abilities or even simply the tools of certain classes, and an exaggerated number of players could create unmanageable chaos for even the sharpest of minds. strategic out there. Fortunately, the Ratloop Games did not do things at random, and from what they have tried they seem to have been able to shape a title with a rather granite structure, as well as really fun for anyone who loves to combine gaming skills and reasoning.
One of the characters of Lemnis Gate The hero shooter element, after all, is closely linked to the skills of the available classes which, although not particularly original, are obviously designed around the structural peculiarities of Lemnis Gate. The Rush class, for example (in all respects similar to the Overwatch Tracer), being able to teleport and being equipped with the highest speed ever, is fabulous for recovering the metal spheres in the variant already described of the "capture the flag" present in the game and it is therefore logical to select it immediately in games of that type to set a clear recovery path from the beginning on which to build your tactics.
That's where the fun begins, though: at that point an enemy could intercept your Rush with its equivalent (each class can only be used once per game, so doing so means not being able to exploit it for anything else), or cut for the map and eliminate it by placing turrets with another of the game's classes, or even select the sniper (able to slow down time, by the way) to kill him long before he reaches the goal. When you return to your turn, however, you will then be able to eliminate the enemy before he kills your runner in the same way, or act defensively and simply protect him with the shield of another specialized class before an inevitable death. , and so on until the end of the challenge.
Another Lemnis Gate character As you can imagine, the variables are frightening and the 25-second shifts must be studied in the best possible way to perform as many actions as possible using the safest route . Aiming, quick reflexes and the ability to predict other people's strategies are also very important and a marginal mistake can cost so dearly that it makes games really tense.
The maps, which we have already brought up, improve the experience. They are in fact designed to have well-positioned obstacles and intelligent choke points that, for example, do not allow too skilled snipers to dominate the game without repositioning themselves properly (because their line of fire towards objectives or primary routes is partially covered) , or a team particularly devoted to firepower to shoot at random to eliminate everything that passes in a zone and play defensively.
The fact that, however, there is friendly fire completely prevents you from unloading bullets without thinking, because if your teammate passes into the firing area during his turn there is a high chance that you will eliminate him before the time (nullifying any of his efforts).
We found Lemnis Gate brilliant and the handling of the game mechanics seemed almost flawless. Sure, we'd have to play many more hours to get it all out, the modalities are few at the moment, and some prolonged support will undoubtedly be needed, but it's clear that the development team did the necessary tests before letting others test the formula, and got it right.
The Lemnis Gate concept is brilliant, but very difficult to balance properly. The Ratloops, however, seem to have been able to find the keystone of this very particular formula, creating an extremely tactical and hilarious title, with balanced classes and well-thought-out maps. We really believe it can capture a decent community of fans, as long as it is properly supported, and arrives on the market with a little more content.
