Crucible Beta Impressions - The Calm after the Storm

Did you know that Amazon is developing a game? Yes, one of the most profitable companies on Earth is dipping its toes into the also-profitable industry of big-budget video games. Well, maybe not dipping its toes, more like investing a lot into this effort. It has spent six years in development, with millions of dollars invested into new studio Relentless. All the while hoping to explode onto the scene after the success of other hero shooters like Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege.

So, Crucible released in May and virtually nobody batted an eye. I didn’t even realize the game had launched until I received an ad on Facebook, riddled with haha reacts, indicating the public opinion of the game was less-than-stellar. Nevertheless, I reached out for a beta key and received one a week later, plus three referral keys. Crucible is now in a closed beta period after its summer launch failed to impress gamers.

The closed betas for Crucible run on Fridays, from 1-7 in my time zone. I fit in one game this past Friday, but I have to wonder: why not any period of time during the weekend when gamers actually have the time? The middle of the day on a weekday is a bit too restrictive, even if that day precedes the weekend. Thankfully, beta players like me can play the tutorial and introductory matches with any character of their choosing at any point.

Functionally, I can’t complain about Crucible. There’s a definite layer of polish and it performs well in unison with pretty graphics. I would hope as much with this many years of game development. The issue is, the hero shooter genre is floundering in 2020. I had my hundreds of hours of fun with Overwatch, but after 3 years I moved on and, seemingly, so did the rest of the gaming industry as titles like Battleborn and Paladins struggled to stay afloat.

The premise of Crucible is PvPvE, as the target is to secure 3 boss hearts, eliminating enemies in the process. There are currently 10 hunters to play as and I started out with Captain Mendoza. Every game like this has a vanilla character with basic abilities and familiarity to help acclimate new players, and I found myself being able to hang with the rest of my team thanks to this. However, I yearned for a more niche character as this experience was droll and something I’ve experienced time and time again.

Unfortunately, I was only able to fit in one game after work due to the constrictive beta period. The other heroes are serviceable with some unique ideas, like Summer not having cooldowns, Rahi gaining and losing shields with his abilities, etc. There’s certainly potential in this title, but with me only getting to play a match or two a week in this beta period, I can’t comment much further. Here’s hoping Amazon, with their unlimited budget and industry know-how, can course-correct Crucible into a new smash hit that doesn’t befall the fate of the majority of other hero shooters.