Since the release of Overwatch in 2016, so-called arena shooters have been booming. In 2020, new Overwatch competition will appear on the hotly contested market of hero-based shooters with Bleeding Edge by British development studio Ninja Theory. This focuses on exciting multiplayer battles in four-against-four, in which the special skills of the twelve hero characters at the beginning play a central role. Bleeding Edge is available for Xbox One and Microsoft Windows 10.
Ninja Theory made a name for itself in the past with surprise hits and cult classics like Heavenly Sword (2007), Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010), and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (2017). With Bleeding Edge, the studio from Cambridge, UK, is venturing into new territory: that of the popular arena shooter. Unlike Overwatch, Bleeding Edge does not rely on the first-person perspective but on dynamic third-person gameplay. In the 4-vs-4 battles, players have access to twelve different heroes, who have different unlockable skins: including the tank Buttercup with chains and a saw blade as a special weapon, the ranged assassin Maeve with a lightning attack, the curse-based ranged support Kulev, and the melee assassin Daemon, who relies on a deadly blade. The characters are divided into three different strategic classes: tank, assassin, and support. In addition to his basic skills, each character has special skills and superpowers. The superpower has a cooldown that is refilled faster the better the player performs.
Like other arena shooters, Bleeding Edge relies on the cooperative coordination of team members who can seize success through strategic skill and teamwork. So the connection of the strengths of tank, assassin and support is particularly effective. The combat arenas of Bleeding Edge are designed in the futuristic cyberpunk style and offer space for intensive battles that combine melee and ranged combat in third person. In multiplayer, for example, it is necessary to conquer strategic points on the map, the control of which should be tactically coordinated between the four team members. At release, five maps are available, which can be played in the two available game modes (capture points or destroy canisters).
The target group of Bleeding Edge are all those who have an affinity for the currently popular arena and hero shooters. If you've already had enough of Overwatch or Battleborn, Bleeding Edge offers you a playable alternative. However, the game, which is rated as mediocre by critics, offers a very limited number of maps and game modes at release. Bleeding Edge cannot be compared to the scope of Overwatch, which has been established since 2016.
Since 2018, the developer Ninja Theory has been part of Microsoft. The gameography of Ninja Theory is extremely versatile. In addition to the action RPGs Heavenly Sword and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, the British studio also worked on the hack'N' slash DMC: Devil May Cry (2015). With Bleeding Edge, the studio is now taking a new path on behalf of Microsoft.
You can find current information and background information about the arena shooter Bleeding Edge by Ninja Theory on Keyfuchs.
