Ubisoft turns the Art of Battle into a Masterpiece!

For Honor, Ubisoft’s latest entry, is a third-person melee arena combat style that, in its roots, is definitely a brutally superb fighting game. This is definitely a clash between the ages that you’ll want to take part of! Let’s take a look as we review For Honor for the PlayStation 4!

Don’t be fooled by the simple design of the combat system. Beneath it’s easy-to-learn exterior lies a very rich and rewarding experience… Provided you put the time and patience into it, just like what you did in your favorite brawlers of before.

Let’s talk about the basics first. At it’s very core, For Honor lets you to choose from 12 heroes taken from three popular war factions from history – Vikings, Samurai, and Knights. This game indeed let’s you finally settle the age old debate about which one would reign supreme above the rest by proving yourselves in the field of battle!

The most pleasant surprise of all is that For Honor provides some of the most impressive melee combat I’ve seen in a quite a long time. Very physical and in-your-face brutal. Ubisoft calls its system “The Art of Battle” which is why they firmly believe that it is on the veins of a fighting game genre.

When you engage a singular opponent, you lock into him and that changes the interface a bit. From here, you have a multitude of options on how you want to attack or defend. You can strike or block from three different positions – left, right, or overhead. The trick here, just like any brawler, is to read what the opponent is doing, and to capitalize on the other two positions that they’ve left vulnerable. Fortunately, there are onscreen guides that show you where an opponent is going to attack and, with the right timing, will allow for you to do a counter afterwards.

The system was really fun to learn but like I said, you got to put in the time. Much of the effort you do is definitely learning the “rhythm” of every encounter you face, allowing for perfect button presses that will, in turn, let you string some awe-inspiring moves.

Its single player mode is somewhat of a training exercise of sorts that serves as a long tutorial for you to become ready for the big one, which is playing online. Here, you play as a warlord named Apollyon, whose main goal is to make sure there is always war and conflict that will endure through the ages. I won’t dive too much into telling the story but, I’ll say this, I found myself going through this mode not because of the story, but to get my grips on all the basics when I finally plowed through the real meat of the game, which is online.

As you power through the story mode, you level up and get loot, which will give you access to new items such as weapons, armor, and some cosmetic items as well. In the game, there is also a currency called steel, which you can use to unlock new classes or random items (which you can choose to purchase with real-world money, if you so choose.)

When you finally have the guts to dive into For Honor’s multiplayer mode, that’s where the real magic happens. One of the highlights of the game is the choices of game modes given to you.

There are the usual 1v1 and 2v2 fights, which are both equally intense in its own right. However, the mode that stood out the most for me, and probably the one where I had the most fun with, was Dominion mode. Dominion is a 4-man team vs team battle extravaganza where you and your mates cooperate to capture and hold three points in a battlefield filled with AI minions. This was the mode that really made it look like you stepped into the battlefields of old, ready to claim honor and glory by besting your foes in combat!

It was amazing loads of fun rushing and fighting my way through the zones, where usually a lot of heroic feats happen, often turning the tide of the battle. My only gripe though, unfortunately, is that fighting in Dominion can, at times, become too chaotic lets you sort of button-mash your way to victory. That could also be my inexperience talking and maybe, later on, my Dominion battle sense becomes more refined. But all in all, this is, in my opinion, THE go-to mode in For Honor. This is definitely the mode where the most epic of battles can be had.

Elimination mode on the other hand focuses on the complex system of For Honor’s team-based fights.

The bread and butter is this – it’s a 4v4 fight to the death with no respawning, making it both exciting and, at the same time, very challenging just to stay alive, especially when you are the only one left standing in your team. On the good side, I learned a lot from this mode, especially when engaging multiple opponents. It is definitely possible to win solo here, but to do that again, you have to be smart in every approach you do.

Dare I say that 1v1, 2v2, and 4v4 may just be your modes for e-sports and I can’t wait to see that happen!

The game runs smoothly with little or no issues while playing online. Graphically speaking, if you look at the screenshots alone, you know you are in for a visual treat.

After playing the story mode and putting the hours into multiplayer, For Honor still left me wanting more and most of it is from the rich and deep combat system. If again, you manage to put in all the time and effort to learn the intricacies of the game, also getting through the slow combat pace and appreciate the “Art of Battle” mechanic, it is a really rewarding experience that is unlike any game I have played in recent memory.

Verdict:

The Good