'For Honor' is the glorious battle simulation we need

For the longest time, melee combat in video games has been a clumsy, uncomplicated affair. “Dark Souls” took a risk when it created a combat system that emphasized the importance of concepts such as precision, timing, patience, and observation. Ubisoft’s “For Honor” takes the art of battle a step further, and in so doing creates one of the most compelling fighting experiences to date.

For all its strengths, “For Honor” suffers from issues – some forgivable, some that’ll likely be resolved in time, and a few that might make you reconsider purchasing this game right away.





Fantastical hooey

With its slow, measured pace, and eagerness to reward a more calculating approach to combat, “For Honor” is a fighting game that hews much closer to realism than others of its ilk – in terms of gameplay, at least.

Like all fighting games, “For Honor’s” story is completely bonkers. I was expecting some kind of quasi-historical nonsense, but this game is pure fantastical nonsense. I should’ve known; it’s the only way to explain why these Vikings have horned helmets, and how the samurai could've entered the fray.

The single player campaign explains how history’s three most recognizable warrior legacies – knights, Vikings, and samurai – meet in brutal, bloody war. It has something to do with a supervillain with muddy motivations. Serving to acquaint us with the struggles plaguing each faction are main characters whose unfortunate blandness sucks the gravitas out of most situations.

All this makes for an underwhelming story. Still, the solo campaign does three things fairly well: pull players into action-packed scenarios such as castle sieges, Viking raids, and large scale conflicts; show off the game’s ridiculously gorgeous visual and sound design; and teach you basic and advanced combat.

The latter is particularly important, because combat is the delicious, bloody meat of “For Honor.”



 

Getting medieval

In “For Honor,” attacks come from any of three directions: left, right, or up. To block an incoming attack, your guard has to match the direction of said attack. To successfully strike an enemy, you’ll have to attack their unguarded side.

Sounds simple, yes? It is – and that’s exactly why “For Honor” is such an easy game to pick up. But if you’re going to master the game’s combat, you’ll need a deeper appreciation of its many nuances.

As switching the direction of your guard is quick and easy, landing a strike often depends on your speed and ability to employ mind games to outwit your opponent. Deflecting attacks relies on precision timing and paying close attention to your foe’s stance – lose focus for a second, and things could go badly for you. It also helps to have an above-average reaction time.

Additionally, you’ve got to watch your stamina. Run out of it, and you’ll be temporarily vulnerable. A little discipline can take you far in “For Honor.” This isn’t a button-mashy fighting game; insist on fighting carelessly, and you’ll be punished.

You also have an arsenal of abilities at your disposal. You can dodge instead of block. You can parry attacks. You can slam into the enemy to break their guard, temporarily incapacitating them. You can counter this guard break. You can stun foes to rob them of the ability to read the direction of your guard for a short duration. You can grab enemies, throw them off a ledge, or shove them into fire. You’ve got light and heavy attacks, unblockable attacks, drop attacks, brutal executions, combo chains, and more. There’s even a Revenge mode that gives you a brief boost in power and defense.

There are 12 different heroes categorized under four classes (Vanguard, Heavy, Assassin, and Hybrid). The classes of one faction aren’t identical to those of another; every hero is unique, having their own strengths and weaknesses, and boasting their own set of moves, combos, and tricks. It’s therefore also integral to study each character’s abilities if you want to keep winning clashes.

With an abundance of tools to use, “For Honor” offers multiple opportunities to carve out your own fighting strategies and adapt to any situation. Learning how to use said tools in effective combination is crucial to victory. Because fights in this game are true tests of skill (unless they’re unfair – more on that in a sec), winning gives you an incomparable sense of accomplishment and pride.

As the best way to evolve into a competent warrior in “For Honor” is constant practice, this game has a tendency to weed out the noobs from the hardcore. It’s a steep learning curve to the top, so if you’re the type who can’t commit to hours of hard work, “For Honor” isn’t for you.





Enter the fray

As “For Honor” is chiefly a PvP game, its best and worst aspects can be found in the online multiplayer mode.

Multiplayer is comprised of five main modes. Duel – a battle to the death between two players – strips fighting down to its purest form. Brawl is 2v2, while Skirmish and Elimination are 4v4.

Dominion is also 4v4, but deposits you in a large map where vast armies wage war, and where teams are tasked with fighting over and capturing zones. Fighting alongside each team are hundreds of A.I.-controlled infantry units. While they’re easily disposed of, their numbers can still give you trouble. Dominion creates the spectacular illusion of an epic, large scale battle – a feat of technical wizardry many other games have tried, but failed to excel at.

The greater the number of team members and infantry units, however, the more likely your match will deteriorate into incomprehensible chaos. It’s especially annoying (and ironic) how some players clearly don’t uphold honor in high esteem; they’ll run away from combat, or stab you in the back while you’re busy fighting someone else. True, all's fair in love and war - but you won't be saying that when you have three enemy players ganging up on you.

Thankfully, “For Honor’s” refined combat system allows you to fight more than one assailant. I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing many highly skilled players fending off several enemies simultaneously, and even coming out on top. I’ve managed to do the same only twice; all I can say is there are few things more gratifying than emerging victorious from such lopsided struggles.

As your characters level up, “For Honor’s” progression system awards you with steel (with which you can buy weapon parts and armor), feats (additional passive and triggered abilities you can use in battle, such as healing and throwing smoke bombs), and cosmetic items. Powering up this way is extremely slow, however, as the game is stingy with steel and equipment rewards. Which brings us to microtransactions.

“For Honor’s” different warriors are balanced – until you take into consideration the fact that you can use real money to purchase feats and powerful stat-boosting gear. It’s therefore possible to face players who can kill you in three or four hits, regenerate stamina almost instantaneously, and shrug off blows like they’re mosquito bites. The game’s shoddy matchmaking forces you into such unfair clashes, thus insidiously urging you to exploit its get-powerful-quick scheme. This undermines “For Honor’s” own themes of honor and mastery through dedication to honing of one’s craft. Thankfully, not all multiplayer modes incorporate the gear system.

Then there’s the wonky online stability. Sometimes it’s smooth and painless; at other times, it takes forever to find other players to play with, or you or your friends will get kicked out of matches. Lag not only creates teleporting warriors and other glitches, but becomes deadly in a game where victory is dependent on precision. “For Honor’s” loading times could use improvement, too.





The art of war

A microtransaction system that creates imbalanced matches, matchmaking that pits you against overpowered foes, and a shoddy netcode will turn off players from “For Honor.” But these issues can be resolved in time as long as Ubisoft remains committed to supporting the game.

Divest “For Honor” of these problems, and you have an expertly crafted fighting simulation. It’s easy to get into thanks to its simple fundamentals, but grows extremely complex as you learn the finer points of combat. A bevy of tools to employ in battle allows for amazing flexibility, helping you adjust to any situation the exciting multiplayer modes throw at you. “For Honor” isn’t perfect, but it’s still one of the most innovative, addicting, and rewarding fighting games today. — TJD, GMA News

Rating – 8.5/10
Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One