I had the chance to play the LEAP closed beta playtest. LEAP is an upcoming multiplayer first person shooter developed by and published by Blue Isle Studios and Publishing respectively. Playing through LEAP’s closed beta, I was initially intrigued by the premise. Rolling around at the speed of sound on hoverboards and then jumping off and spraying my foes with an assault rifle sounds really fun and exciting, but does LEAP’s gameplay live up to this pitch? Unfortunately, based on my admittedly limited time with the game, LEAP has a lot to do in order to live up to this high-octane goal.
First impressions of LEAP reminded me a lot of many other online shooters. The main menu, previewing your character, tabs for matchmaking, stats, customization, and of course, an in-game store, are all core components of any first-person shooter today. Given that it was a closed beta, customization was limited, and the store was not useable (yet). The 4 classes that were available were very familiar, each having their own unique loadouts and abilities.
Balance was not a big concern for me in this closed beta, given that the developers will have time to iron out any balance issues they may have (the shield seems to be pretty universally good, though). I did find the large maps a bit problematic, especially when I was in half filled lobbies (which made up most of my playtime over the weekend). The moving objectives does help set up battle lines and keep players moving towards and around each other, though. Every player having a hoverboard to move around also helps alleviate the common issue of players walking miles in big maps just to find the enemy.
My problem with LEAP isn’t necessarily that it is a bad game, per say. I did have some optimization issues, lag and choppy frames being the principal sins. However, LEAP just doesn’t seem very…creative. Sure, the hoverboards are neat and flying around shooting people can be a hoot, but at the end of the day, LEAP just doesn’t do enough to really sell why it should be your first-person shooter. First person shooters are a bit of a saturated market. Multiplayer, online only first-person shooters even more so, with juggernauts like Call of Duty and Halo out with recent new releases, gobbling up a limited player base.
Therefore, in order to really find success, new first-person shooters have to really set themselves apart. Maybe a studio will really focus on realistic weapon handling and military realism like Insurgency or Squad. Another studio might add RPG-like mechanics like Destiny or make the focus of the game a cast of interesting characters like Overwatch. LEAP definitely tries to set itself apart with its grappling hooks, hoverboards, and fast movement, but I’m not sure if this will be enough. It’s telling when (and I know it was a closed beta) I was struggling to find full matches while playing. Maybe when an open play test comes out, LEAP can really get going, but for now, I’d say this game may be a bit of a wait and see.
Leap is coming soon to Steam Early Access and you can wishlist it now.
My name is Matt Tran and I have been playing video games since I could remember holding a controller. I've always been a hardcore gamer growing up, from the hectic MW2 and Halo 3 lobbies, my many journeys through several Halo clans and my current exploits with my Destiny 2 clan. I love shooters and RPGs and overanalyzing every component of every game I've played, from weapon stats to ideal perks. When I have time to play other games, I currently play Genshin Impact and Star Wars Squadrons.
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