In Crucible Beta, a team-based action shooter, players battle for survival and control in each match, adapting to planetary challenges and working together to defeat opponents, capture objectives, and take down alien creatures. Each hunter has unique abilities and weapons, and players choose their upgrades before matches, starting on a level playing field. The game's intensity depends on strategy and teamwork.
The character designs are visually appealing and diverse, contributing to a fun gameplay experience.
The graphics and art style are praised for their beauty, creating an immersive atmosphere.
The gameplay mechanics are engaging, with unique character abilities that offer potential for fun interactions.
The game suffers from significant performance issues, including frame rate drops and poor optimization, detracting from the overall experience.
Many players find the gameplay repetitive and lacking depth, leading to a sense of boredom over time.
The monetization model is criticized as a cash grab, prioritizing microtransactions over gameplay quality and core features.
gameplay
2,408 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
54%
17%
The gameplay of Crucible has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its potential but criticizing its execution. While some find the mechanics engaging and the character abilities unique, others describe the gameplay as repetitive, clunky, and lacking depth, often feeling unbalanced and uninspired. The absence of effective communication tools and the slow pacing of matches further detract from the overall experience, leading to a perception that the game is still in a rough, unfinished state.
“The gameplay is fun, the movement feels clean, and gunplay is pretty good.”
“The core gameplay is a lot of fun, it looks badass, and the soundtrack is killer.”
“The gameplay itself is pretty fun, you've got a 4v4 mode, and 8v8, and a battle royale duos x8 (duos only, 8 teams of 2 so total of 16).”
“Generic characters / heroes to choose from and an ultimately boring gameplay loop just shattered any chance of this game becoming the next big thing.”
“However, the only thing that will be remembered forever is the gameplay and how empty it was and that it didn't know what it wanted to be.”
“The gameplay feels slow, imprecise, and unfocused.”
graphics
1,138 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
51%
19%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the beautiful art style and vibrant environments, while others criticize the overall quality as outdated and poorly optimized. Many users report significant performance issues, including frame rate drops and limited graphical settings, which detract from the visual experience. Overall, while the game shows potential in its aesthetics, it struggles with execution and optimization, leading to a lackluster graphical performance for a title released in 2020.
“The graphics, gunplay, gameplay and character design are fantastic.”
“The graphics are beautiful, and the gameplay is a lot of fun and offers a twist of different style games mashed into one.”
“Graphically, the game is stunning.”
“Moving aside, the graphics are poor quality and when running this game at 1440p maxed out, textures look horrible.”
“I tried playing this game on my new PC and I checked all requirements, my PC passed all the requirements for the best quality of play, yet at high graphics settings the quality was still crap.”
“The graphics are not acceptable for a 2020 release, it looks like 2016 graphics at best.”
optimization
1,094 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
50%
39%
The optimization of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players reporting severe performance issues, including significant frame drops and inconsistent framerates, even on high-end systems. Reviewers noted that the game feels poorly optimized for both low and high settings, leading to a clunky and frustrating gameplay experience. While some players see potential in the game, they emphasize that substantial optimization work is needed to improve performance and overall enjoyment.
“This game is honestly so much fun, but at release the game was lacking the basic '2020 video game standard feature pack' such as voice/text chat, surrender feature, and basic optimization (people with the most decked out rigs could maybe only get 120 fps in-game).”
“I believe Crucible has an enormous amount of potential and with some performance optimization, a clean UI, and a few balance changes here and there it will thrive!”
“The optimization settings need to be improved as well; while running a NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super on low settings, I can barely maintain 125Hz at 1080p.”
“Poorly optimized and so many bugs for a company with so much money.”
“The optimization is horrible, I have all the requirements and yet it doesn't matter if I put everything on low or high in video settings; it still looks like I am playing on potato, fps is just horrible.”
“The game is poorly optimized and the camera angle is horribly positioned.”
stability
402 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and performance issues that detract from the overall experience. Many players describe it as a "buggy mess," particularly noting problems with matchmaking, character balance, and gameplay mechanics. While some users acknowledge the game's potential and express hope for future improvements, the consensus is that it currently feels unfinished and unpolished, making it difficult to recommend at this stage.
“The game is polished and bug free.”
“From my experience the game runs great.”
“Overall the game runs great.”
“Game is a buggy mess, but if it worked as intended and had more content, it'd be great.”
“It's too buggy, not enough content, and the matchmaking takes too long (1-4 minutes).”
“This game in its current state is a clunky, buggy mess that doesn't quite know what it wants to be.”
character development
266 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
46%
9%
Character development in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the character designs as visually appealing and diverse, while others criticize them as generic or derivative. Players appreciate the unique abilities associated with each character, but often feel that the gameplay and overall character development lack depth and cohesion, leading to a disconnect between the aesthetic appeal and engaging gameplay. Overall, while the character designs are frequently highlighted as a strong point, the execution in terms of gameplay and character interaction leaves much to be desired.
“The character designs are amazing.”
“Great character design; it is fun to play each individual hero.”
“The game has a decent concept, great character designs, and an interesting world.”
“Definitely seems like their character design was diversity first, broad appeal second, integrity and worldbuilding some distant 7th or something.”
“The character design is bad, character skills are bad, synergies are bad, passives feel bad, no ultimate skills, awkward skill interactions.”
“Every element, from the systems, to the character design, to the art style, to the enemies and world feel lifted from something else, made more generic because they didn't have any original ideas, then slapped together with a 'eh, good enough' attitude.”
monetization
244 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
49%
43%
The monetization model of the game has drawn significant criticism, with many reviewers labeling it a "cash grab" due to its heavy reliance on microtransactions and a battle pass system, despite being free-to-play. While some players appreciate that the in-game purchases are purely cosmetic and not pay-to-win, the overall sentiment is that the game prioritizes monetization over gameplay quality, leaving it feeling unfinished and lacking core features. The presence of numerous microtransactions and a focus on selling cosmetics has led to concerns about the game's long-term viability and player satisfaction.
“Microtransactions are very fair - all cosmetic.”
“Game is a lot of fun, monetization is all cosmetic.”
“The monetization model is great for a free-to-play game, not pay-to-win, and not in your face (they're also pretty much giving you the first battle pass for free).”
“It's pretty apparent this game is a soulless cash grab.”
“This is a marketplace to sell skins and microtransactions first, and a game second.”
“The game feels entirely like early access shoved out the door as quickly as possible with as much monetization as possible as a cash grab.”
story
166 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
77%
11%
The game's story is largely criticized for being minimal or poorly integrated, with many players noting that it feels secondary to gameplay. While some appreciate the character backstories and hints of a larger narrative, others find the overall plot uninteresting and lacking depth, often relegated to collectible cards rather than being woven into the gameplay experience. Overall, there is a strong desire among players for a more engaging and cohesive story mode.
“I love this game, the characters are way more original than in other games and the story was pretty mysterious.”
“There is a deep back story to each one that plays out while in game through voice overs between the characters.”
“This is a very nice feature, as throughout your gameplay you figure out the background and story of the characters you are using.”
“Progression was tedious, the story of the characters was uninteresting.”
“Little to nothing is told to you by actually playing the game, it's all in some story cards you can look for in the character customization screen.”
“No story to speak of, in general, and certainly no character background.”
grinding
154 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
3%
96%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and unengaging. While efficient farming is essential for leveling up and gaining an advantage in fights, the repetitive nature of farming and the lack of interesting rewards contribute to a sense of boredom. Overall, players express frustration with the grind-heavy mechanics, which detract from the enjoyment of the game's combat and objectives.
“This is a good point for me, as I'm not the grindy type of player, so PvE has a secondary role here.”
“Efficient farming is the best way to outlevel opponents and get an edge in fights, but it’s so dreadfully boring that I can’t blame most of my teammates for screwing around instead of playing the objective.”
“The game feels slow, especially since the PvE side is tedious and boring, as it's literally just shooting away at basically stationary targets plus it doesn't give much XP.”
“Because all the farming XP between rounds feels so slow and grindy, it just isn't fun; it feels like I'm waiting for the game to start.”
music
124 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
58%
8%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its quality and character-specific themes, while others criticize the mixing and lack of memorable tracks. Many players appreciate the effort put into the soundtrack and voice lines, noting that it enhances character personality, but some find the overall audio experience lacking, with complaints about blandness and insufficient background music during gameplay. Overall, while the soundtrack has its highlights, it appears to need further refinement to fully engage players.
“The music in the game is honestly beautiful and has some epic parts to it.”
“The core gameplay is a ton of fun, it looks badass, and the soundtrack is killer.”
“This game was made by Amazon and has one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard.”
“The game has boring and confusing menus, a boring generic soundtrack, and even more boring characters that have no roles.”
“The lack of background music in an already bland map is horrible.”
“There is no music in the game.”
humor
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
91%
9%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it amusingly flawed, particularly in its character designs and gameplay mechanics. While some appreciate the whimsical and diverse cast, others criticize the game's janky execution and unbalanced elements, leading to laughter at its shortcomings rather than genuine enjoyment. Overall, the humor often stems from the game's absurdities and the irony of its development by a major company like Amazon, which adds a layer of comedic critique to the experience.
“I played until I found a character I liked (Summer) and now I literally cannot stop laughing maniacally as I burn people to the ground, watching them attempt to scrape and claw their way out of my fire pit of hell.”
“I have zero problem with making a diverse cast of characters, but Amazon's approach made me laugh my ass off, as their devs made an unreal effort to include everyone, in the meme-iest caricature representations ever.”
“The tutorial alone was really pretty funny and cute (I went through it with just Earl).”
“The game feels so janky and incomplete it's not funny.”
“Half of it sounds like they asked my mom what a competitive gamer would say, and then they implemented her exact words and goofy impression but not funny.”
“This is Amazon Games Studio, hahah unfunny joke.”
replayability
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
50%
10%
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it fun and engaging with potential for replay value, many criticize its limited character roster and lack of diverse game modes, leading to a repetitive experience. The absence of a practice mode and issues with gameplay mechanics further detract from its long-term appeal. Many reviewers suggest that significant improvements are needed to enhance replayability and keep players returning.
“There's the makings of a solid game here with great replayability.”
“Fun game, lots of replay value and will be a fun game with friends.”
“It takes a third person shooter and a MOBA and combines them into a simple to understand format that is at least for me very replayable.”
“I think this game has a chance if changes are made, but right now it is an over-monetized alpha that does not have the replay value unless these issues are addressed.”
“Combine that with the small pool of characters and you're done after a few rounds of playing, because only 4 characters are playable.”
“In short, it is a fun game at its surface but currently lacks replayability.”
atmosphere
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
47%
13%
The atmosphere of the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its outstanding graphics and immersive world that evokes nostalgia, while others criticize it for being colorless and lacking engaging sound effects or music. Players appreciate the competitive atmosphere and unique character experiences, but many feel that the overall execution lacks polish and depth.
“The atmosphere and graphics are really nice.”
“The game overall plays very well, it has a good starting roster, nice game modes, and an atmospheric world.”
“What I do like is the atmosphere and music, both remind me of Starcraft.”
“The game completely lacks any sort of atmosphere.”
“There's no polish or atmosphere.”
“Generally washed out and colorless atmosphere.”
emotional
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional responses to the game are mixed, with some players feeling a lack of engagement and emotional connection, describing it as boring and unworthy of their time. Conversely, others found joy and wholesome entertainment in the experience, enjoying social interactions and gameplay despite acknowledging various issues. Overall, the game seems to evoke a spectrum of feelings, from indifference to enjoyment, depending on individual perspectives.
“Fun wholesome entertainment, loved every second.”
“The game is free and I had a great time playing and sharing my experiences on various Twitch, Discord, and Reddit with a lot of wholesome people that love the game.”
“But anyway, problems with the game besides my own emotional crisis.”