Test Gigantic: Rampage Edition – A release of the MOBA/Hero Shooter which brings nothing more

Test conditions: We played around thirty games of Gigantic: Rampage Edition, including both rush and clash mode, testing at least each character. The title was tested on PC mainly with a controller with 32GB of Ram, an RTX 3070 and an i5-12400 (2.50 GHz).

Questionable new content

Before tackling the handle again in the content, it is good to recall what is Gigantic. This is a MOBA-oriented title League of Legendsbut also Hero Shooter at the Smite Or Overwatch. The heart of the game Gigantic: Rampage Editionresides in its clash mode. Playing 5 against 5, the goal is to defeat the opposing goalkeeper by raising your goalkeeper's gauge to 100, and thus reveal the weak point of the opposing goalkeeper to do him damage, to the point of destroying his three hearts and win the game. To summon your guardian, you will have to collect these power points by defeating enemies, or by capturing various points of interest on the map. All this, by summoning creatures on them, giving enemies a hard time getting hold of them.

This is what the concept of software is, and know that the new features that the software brings are unfortunately not that legion. Besides the 23 heroes that we can control, two new ones are added to the list with Roland and Kajir. Their design is nice, although the game is criticized for not developing the lore of each hero enough, which could have been a big plus. But in short, as for the rest of the added content, we find the Azur District and Picaro Bay, in addition to a new game mode which is the Rush.

Unlike Clash mode, it will be possible to play faster games, change characters during the game, and everything will focus on obtaining power orbs at each point of interest, which will be devoid of creatures keeping her. In addition, it is not possible in rush mode to level up, like in clash mode which is ultimately a more complete and even more competitive mode. This mode will thus be more accessible for beginners who will have the possibility of playing any character at will in the current game.

You will have understood, apart from this new mode as well as its two new heroes and maps, Gigantic: Rampage Edition has little new content to offer in addition to the content of the original game already in place. All this is clearly frivolous. Even if a season mode should be on the horizon soon and its guide and tutorial mode give you the ability to train well with each character, you'll have to act quickly for the little guys at Abstraction Games if they want to keep newcomers to the game, or even fans of the franchise. Because in the absence of a season mode which is not yet available and a ranked mode which is not yet in the game, it is a safe bet that players could quickly look elsewhere. Especially since we remember that the title is paid like the original game, which was basically Free-to-play.

Lively, nervous, but with obvious worries

As for its gameplay, Gigantic: Rampage Edition remains on the solid foundations of the original game. Nothing has really changed, which means that we find the same feeling with the controller in hand on each protagonist. Namely a slightly rigid sway of the hips, and fairly poor sensations in terms of confrontations. If they are always frantic and dynamic, the latter lack punch whether on basic attacks, as on the ultimate abilities of each protagonist. To make matters worse, the fights are sometimes too confusing for us to navigate properly due to too many effects, and the dodging abilities are clearly outdated.

Nevertheless, we have to admit that the games are rather intense and lively. If the game has taken a turn for the worse in terms of playability, it is clear that the games flow well together, and the strategic side is extremely essential to successfully complete the clashes until final victory. In addition, the complementarity between each class of characters (support, DPS, and first line) is well put together, and allows for a very pleasant alchemy.

In other words, the big strong point comes precisely from these protagonists. Each has their own special abilities, and players will be spoiled for choice on which character to control. There is clearly something for everyone, and each hero obviously has a different ultimate ability, usable only once the gauge is filled for it. We can go from a Roland having a blunderbuss and using a support drone, to the Margrave who can ram everything in his path, and do serious damage like setting his opponents on fire.

All this is still enjoyable overall, although there remain obvious balancing concerns. It's not uncommon to get beaten by a support class, while a DPS is technically stronger, and is supposed to do more damage. Also, it is common, because the fights are too confusing, to be crushed from who knows where by another protagonist without having asked for anything.

This big balancing pitfall is unfortunately present in the original game which Abstraction Games did not correct in the same way as the servers, which undergo regular disconnections, forcing us to tirelessly relaunch a search to finally have access to a game. In addition, we regret the repetitive aspect of the various parts, which struggle to renew themselves despite the addition of the two new maps, with honest level design…

Pimp your hero

In the parts before arriving at the purely customization side, it is possible in clash mode to improve your character's skills. Indeed, once your protagonist goes up a level up to level 10 maximum, you can use an improvement point. This will aim to upgrade some of his skills, and thus considerably strengthen them (do more damage, be more resistant, reduce the recharge of a skill, etc.). This mechanic still works very well, and allows us to see more or less the rise in power of our hero, even if it can sometimes seem minimal..

Furthermore, one of the strengths of Gigantic: Rampage Edition lies in the customization of the builds of each hero. By going to the hero tab of the menu, it is possible to choose one, and thus personalize its various skills. Thus, you will be able to choose the active or passive bonuses of your protagonist, which you can then select during your games when you need to use an improvement point. This set will give you the opportunity to personalize it and add your own style of play, and thus perform a little better during games in Clash or Rush mode.

Concerning the progression system, it nonetheless remains archaic and has a somewhat austere interface.. Concretely at the end of each game, your chosen hero gains experience which increases his level of mastery, which will also have the effect of increasing your profile level. All this together will have the effect of unlocking new cosmetics for your hero, or even a hero voucher, used precisely to unlock the few locked heroes.

Likewise, you will be able to glean crowns by completing various challenges via the hero's destiny or weekly cards, allowing you to purchase new emotes or skins to spend via the in-game store. If there is an observation to be made, it is that the software gives us the feeling of having very quickly reworked its progression and economic system, so that it sticks exactly to the paid version of Gigantic: Rampage Edition.

This allows you to just have currency, skins or emotes to glean while playing. We can clearly criticize the production of Abstraction Games for not having carried out a real overhaul of the progression, which nonetheless remains austere and not very rewarding, unless we are only interested in the cosmetic aspect of the title.

Graphical improvement, absolute zero

Graphically, don't expect any improvements since there are none.. While we could have hoped for at least a graphic overhaul worthy of the name, this is not the case. The title remains stuck on the same graphics engine as the original game, namely Unreal Engine 3. As a result, we will necessarily have relatively rough textures, and effects which are clearly from another time.

The graphics options on PC are also very meager. For a game released in 2024 this is very limited, which leads us to believe that Abstraction Games was content to just use the engine of the initial game, without making a single touch-up. And even if the artistic direction all in cel-shading allows the software to age well, it would not have been the luxury of having a much prettier game, especially since once again, it is now about 'a paid version.

Even the soundtrack, finally, hasn't changed at all. There is French dubbing for each character which is a good thing. However, the musical themes will have nothing transcendent, while lacking personality.