A FREE-TO-PLAY FREE-FOR-ALL

I am always first in line to bang the anti-FPS drum and wave the no-shooter flag. Maybe it is the stress of finals, or maybe the fact that I have been holed up in my room for the past few weeks, but I’ve been having a multiplayer itch that I just need to scratch. Mario Kart 8 isn’t out for a few more weeks, Mario Golf: World Tour is out of my price point, and I can’t justify spending anything near the price for Battlefield 4 or Call of Duty: Ghosts on the PlayStation 4–therefore, with a heavy heart and with much hesitation, I downloaded Blacklight: Retribution for the PS4. However, with even more hesitation, I have to admit I really enjoy the game.

Blacklight: Retribution is a free-to-play first-person shooter created by Zombie Studios (known for their work in Daylight, the Spec Ops series, and the Saw series). Since the game’s launch on Steam in April last year, Blacklight made a resurgence this November as a launch title for the PlayStation 4. Ever since the original launch, the game has been in open beta allowing the developers to actively respond to bugs and issues as they occur.

Players of Blacklight are placed in a futuristic sci-fi setting with no further story–understandably so, as the game is multiplayer only. Unlike Titanfall which tried to inject story into the multiplayer, Blacklight takes the hands-off approach and just delivers the game as is: an unabashed shooting free-for-all.

While the story is hardly existent, Zombie Studios more than makes up for it with solid gameplay. I am by all means an amateur to the FPS genre, yet after nearly an hour I found myself able to compete with the more dedicated Blacklight players. With more than a dozen different multiplayer modes, the title offers a nice selection of other games–even if you (like me) spend most the time in Deathmatch.

One small caveat: I don’t think someone can necessarily be “good at Blacklight“. Due to the glitchy nature of the game, the broken spawning points, and tight spaces, the game often feels like it is more luck-based than skill-based. However, this never was an issue for me. Instead of a strategic FPS, Blacklight began to feel more like a shoot-em-up free-for-all, it is sheer twitchy fun enjoyment.

Blacklight, while ripping popular ideas from other successful genre titans, offers their own spin on the FPS. First, the game utilizes the Hyper Reality Visor (HRV) which gives the player the ability to see through walls at the detriment of not being able to fire. Besides the cool look this gave the game, HRV only becomes useful in larger maps where you are nowhere near your enemies. Using HPV in a smaller environment will almost certainly mean an instant death by the surrounding three or four players.

Additionally, Blacklight puts a heavy emphasis in weapon and armor customization. While normal FPS titles may offer different gun types to choose from, Blacklight gives you the option to change the barrel, the stock, and nearly every other part that you could customize on a gun. Accordingly, all modifications come with an up and down side–while trying out different customizations is a great idea to build depth to the game, your creation will never necessarily outperform the starter weapon. While this system seems fun to play around with, I have yet to test the waters because the price is ridiculous. Though players can rent modifications for a day or two with in game currency, the only way to permanently own the mods is through micro-transactions. I would love the ability to modify my weapons, however with no way to work for permanent improvements, the system seems not even worth it.

Finally, it must be said that the game is for the most part broken. The game is still in beta, so this may be excusable to some extent. If I pick up the game, I fully expect to die for no reason, have other players slingshot past me, or have the game crash before even starting up. I have a decent amount of patience, so this never bothered me too much–however, it can very quickly kill the vibe to an otherwise good time.

The Verdict: 7.5 out of 10

I have had a ton of fun with Blacklight: Retribution. The game offers a crazy free-for-all with a simple enough learning curve to those testing the “FPS waters”. Those who are looking for more strategic or precise FPS games may want to look elsewhere–especially if you have a low tolerance for crashes and broken mechanics. Not only that, but the archaic microtransactions take all the fun out of what seems like an enjoyable customization system. That said, the bugs shouldn’t deter you from trying out the free-to-play title and seeing how you like it yourself.

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Lou Contaldi is MONG’s Nintendo Specialist and senior editor. He also spends his time habitating a law school. You can follow his incoherent ramblings at Twitter.

This review is based off of the PS4 copy freely downloaded. The reviewer spent 35+ hours with the game over the span of weeks, mostly playing Deathmatch. If you want to play, friend him @KingLouieTrip.