Icons: Combat Arena Closed Beta Impressions

There is never a party that achieves maximum epicness without someone first breaking out Super Smash Brothers, and to that effect, the brawling continues in this newest installment in the fighting genre.

The style to Icons: Combat Arena is incredible, almost resembling character types from all sorts of games. I immediately get an Overwatch vibe coupled with something close to Playstation Allstars. The one guy even looks like something out of Jak and Daxter. It’s cartoony, it’s sleek, and it’s refreshing.

I was not so sure about the default keyboard controls, and I don’t think the game was sure either when I first started it up on my computer. I think “attack strikes” was missing entirely until I assigned it. I just set the keys to function in the way that best suited my hands on the keyboard. I’m hoping there is a controller interface that will be available. (Edit: There is a controller option, as seen on the Steam Community page).

The gameplay is pretty good, but I think it can be better. I have only spent a little bit of time getting used to everything. From what I gather, there are some basic attacks and a cool use of combinations with grabs and counters. Not sure about wombo combos, but I have seen players perform impressive onslaughts. As for game modes, there is the go-to free for all as well as teams. You are free to alter the countdown timer and the number of stacks before starting.

I am not very good at this game, but I think that may be in some part due to how many people are currently playing currently in the closed beta. The match-ups right now seem to throw veterans and newbies alike into the ring. Sort of like what the gladiators did, but in this case, my pride was beaten down just as effectively as my character was blown off the stage. It’s definitely an art, and it takes both time and practice to get better.

I love the character designs, but I think we need a lot more of them to make the game interesting. From the get-go, you only have three characters, and the only way to get the other few available characters is to purchase them with in-game points or with realworld money. When I first played, I could not tell my character apart from another player who also had my character. That’s where the skins matter, because there are a lot of them. Sure, there’s a chance that you won’t have the same skin as another player, but it seems like a setback to even run that risk when playing a quick match online.

There are five stages or arenas, in which you will battle out your frustrations like no tomorrow. Unlike our beloved Smash, however, these stages all feel like clones of Final Destination and are reskinned to look just a little different from each other. They look great, don’t get me wrong, but I am hoping to see more variety and maybe some different interactions with the stages themselves.

The community behind Icons looked pretty strong to me, where there is even a Discord channel there for anyone who wants to talk strategy with other players. I’m not particularly a social butterfly when I’m punching everybody in the face, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how people are getting along in discussion boards. It feels like League of Legend‘s more optimistic and helpful counterpart.

I’m curious where this title goes, and how much traction it will pick up as its official release draws near. I am especially hopeful that we will see the roster grow as fast, if not faster than the skins readily available for each character.

Icons: Combat Arena is coming to Steam Early Access on July 12, and features an ever-expanding roster of combatants, familiar and new archetypes, offering an amazing free to play experience with flawless online play, balanced combat and fun yet competitive play.

Related: Reserve Your Closed Beta Spot Now for ICONS: COMBAT ARENA this Weekend

John Pruitt

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I like to think of myself as the average Joe who grew up alongside video games. I have fun playing strategy games, RPGs, shooters, sandboxes, the whole shebang! Every game provides an experience whether it strikes you as profound, mundane, or someplace in between. I'd like to weigh in my two cents before you spend a single penny.

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