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Blacklight: Retribution Review for PC

Blacklight: Retribution Review for PC

Exfiltration In Five

A few years ago, I’d have said it was a match made in Hell: a competitive multiplayer first-person shooter based around a free-to-play business model combines the single most over-saturated gaming genre with a financial strategy that is always feared for its potential to fall into “pay to win” territory. Free-to-play titles have seen a lot of success of late, though, which probably has much to do with developers finding a balance between enhancing the experiences of those who spend money and maintaining balanced and playable title for those who won’t.

Blacklight: Retribution is a follow-up to Blacklight: Tango Down, which, unlike its predecessor, follows a free-to-play model. As I haven’t played the first game (also a multiplayer shooter), this is pretty much the last comparison to that previous title I’ll be making. It’s just interesting to see a sequel go free-to-play when the original was, and still is, marketed more traditionally.

Blacklight: Retribution Screenshot

The first thing one will note upon starting up the tutorial: this is a good looking game. The Unreal Engine 3 continues to strut its stuff and, despite a few blurry textures here or there, Blacklight: Retribution looks and sounds superb, with explosions and gunshots that have an ever-so-slightly quieter impact than one would expect, but in a way that seems appropriate for the game’s setting. It comes across as suitably pointed, or precise. The “wub-wub” of dub-step is also apparent, primarily in the post-match breakdowns. It somehow works here. Most importantly, the controls feel tight and responsive, and lag is pretty much a non-issue, with bullets seeming to land more or less where they should. Those are the basics, though, and while they may be more impressive than what one would expect of a free-to-play title, they’re not what differentiate this game from its first-person ilk.

So, how does Blacklight: Retribution distinguish itself from the ordinary? What does it do to rise above the morass of same-old, same-old that plagues its entire genre in the wake of Call of Duty’s obscene success? Well, it looks different. Clearly inspired by cyberpunk as well as more traditional science fiction, Blacklight has mechanical and masked “agents” doing combat in industrial settings, such as warehouses and manufacturing plants, as well as dysfunctional and demolished city streets. Blue and orange are everywhere, the two colors conjoining as the basis for the game’s palette. Smartly, teammates will always appear as blue while enemies take the complement, which causes them to pop out from environments that generally contrast with their colorful highlights. Yes, the game does have a bit of that Minority Report vibe with its aesthetic, but it works well in this case, and manages to avoid being overbearing.

Blacklight: Retribution Screenshot

Blacklight’s single most unique feature, though, is its “HRV,” an enhanced vision mode that can be toggled on at the tap of a button. It cuts the world down to its absolute basics: players can see the general shape of the level in whatever direction they’re looking, as well as the silhouettes, names and remaining health of any enemies in that direction. This allows a player to see through walls and get a picture of how the fight is going, enabling on-the-fly strategizing in a way that takes some getting used to. It manages to avoid being overpowered, both by having only a short duration (after which it takes a few seconds to recharge) and disabling weapon fire and sprinting while active. It also undergoes a brief transition period between being off and on. Despite these drawbacks, it is extremely useful, and the cornerstone of being an effective player.

Blacklight’s single most unique feature, though, is its “HRV,” an enhanced vision mode that can be toggled on at the tap of a button. It cuts the world down to its absolute basics: players can see the general shape of the level in whatever direction they’re looking, as well as the silhouettes, names and remaining health of any enemies in that direction. This allows a player to see through walls and get a picture of how the fight is going, enabling on-the-fly strategizing in a way that takes some getting used to. It manages to avoid being overpowered, both by having only a short duration (after which it takes a few seconds to recharge) and disabling weapon fire and sprinting while active. It also undergoes a brief transition period between being off and on. Despite these drawbacks, it is extremely useful, and the cornerstone of being an effective player.

Blacklight: Retribution Screenshot

None of this is to say that Blacklight doesn’t borrow from its contemporaries. It most certainly does, most notably with the point system it uses in matches. As one kills enemies, captures the flag, performs assists, or does pretty much anything else at all noteworthy, the game tosses out points, providing a sense of instant gratification for one’s actions as one might expect in a Call of Duty title. Further, drawing from Counter-Strike and its progeny, players can use these points to purchase equipment and aid at supply depots scattered throughout each level. This ranges from health refills and weaponry up to the Hardsuit, a bipedal tank-armor that one can call down and inhabit, taking advantage of its chaingun and railgun to tear through the enemy ranks.

Again, showing their penchant for balance, Zombie Studios made the Hardsuit not only expensive, but difficult to obtain. Once purchased, it must be called down (if one is killed before this is done, the device used to spawn it is lost), at which point anyone can enter it. Further, even though it is a formidable device, it has exploitable weak points and the weapons that are designed to take it down are similarly available from the supply depot for far fewer points than the Hardsuit itself.

And that’s really the core of what makes Blacklight: Retribution an enjoyable experience. Despite the ridiculous amount of layered customization available (both for weapons and armor, as well as temporary “node” power-ups), the leveling system, and the fact that one can spend money to expedite and enhance these processes, skill is still the deciding factor. Even the most basic gun chips away an opponent’s health in a few seconds, almost immediately with a headshot, and controls smoothly and naturally enough that any first-person shooter reflexes a player already has should carry right over.

There were a couple of moments in particular that seemed to encapsulate my feelings about the game. In my first free-for-all deathmatch, I caught myself rapidly snaking through passages in the level, using the HRV to plan quick ambushes for foes, using enclosed pipes to my advantage as I chained together kills, always on the move and maintaining awareness of my surroundings to avoid getting caught off guard. It felt extremely organic and natural.

The second was during a round of capture the flag. With thirty seconds left on the clock, the round was still scoreless, but both teams were already holding their opponent’s flag at base, waiting for their own to be recovered before a point could be scored. Our opponents launched a full-scale assault against our base, in the middle of which I snuck out and over to the other base where their flag carrier was standing, according to my HRV, unguarded. A grenade to flush him out and a few bullets to the skull allowed me to recover the flag, while my teammates scored with the enemy flag back at base.

Blacklight: Retribution Screenshot

Blacklight: Retribution does have its issues. There are only a handful of game types and maps, and leveling is a slow process without spending money to speed it up. When one levels, only the ability to unlock a customization item is unlocked; it must still be purchased using either some of the (extremely limited) GP one earns from a match or using Zen, which can be bought at any time with real money. Also, its unique features make a single-player campaign an enticing prospect, or at least a mode with some co-op missions that players could tackle together.

Further, while the game is fun enough to play, it exists purely for its own sake. There isn’t an overarching meta-game at work; Blacklight: Retribution is a multiplayer shooter in which advancement is met with more shooting of strangers without a greater purpose. With its small, and relatively mundane, selection of game modes, and only a few levels to play them on, I worry that it will have trouble holding players’ interest in the long term.

Still, Blacklight: Retribution is a polished, enjoyable shooter with a fast pace and unique mechanics that are easy to learn and fun to employ. Whatever minor fumbles it may make, the compelling design overrides them to the point where the game is easy to recommend. Plus, it’s free. Who doesn’t like free?

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.0 Graphics
You’ve seen the Unreal engine before. Save for some blurry textures, though, this is a skillful implementation thereof, and the stylistic decisions manage to make the game pop. 3.5 Control
It’s a little annoying having to switch to grenades, rather than having a dedicated button, but this is otherwise a smooth and accurate shooting experience. 4.0 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The gunshots sound more “precise” than one might be used to, but it somehow fits with the game’s aesthetic. Dubstep at the end of each match is just icing on the cake. 3.5 Play Value
This is a game that really has to be played for its own sake. Other than the customization unlocks and nodes, everything’s there from day one, meaning that you will most likely see each map and play each mode hundreds of times if you aim to level up and unlock everything. It needs more content as soon as possible, but what’s there is attention-grabbing. 3.8 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 – 1.9 = Avoid 2.5 – 2.9 = Average 3.5 – 3.9 = Good 4.5 – 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 – 2.4 = Poor 3.0 – 3.4 = Fair 4.0 – 4.4 = Great 5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

  • Knowing the location of the enemy is vital to success. Pairing good communication with the extremely useful HRV will lead your team to victory.
  • The weapon depot loadouts are customizable and can be changed in the armory. Buyer beware, while shopping for an upgrade players are prone to being shot down, allowing another player to take the purchase.
  • Armed with a minigun and railgun, the Hardsuit is the ultimate weapon.

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