Gigantic Preview And Beta Keys

! We are out of keys. If more become available, we will let you know.

We had some hands-on time with Motiga’s team-and-arena-based third-person shooter (phew!) Gigantic at PAX East, and I’m thrilled to report that Skewed ‘n Reviewed is now partaking in their closed beta!

Like most online arena-based games today, there are a lot of moving parts to Gigantic, but many great things that set it apart. Players pick from a range of fantasy heroes that all fill different roles and hop into a battle-ground to duke it out in the name of their gigantic guardian – hence the game’s name. More of a third-person shooter than a top-down traditional MOBA, the game is colorful and the pacing is swift.

Diving head first into a game is easy, but the kind folks at Motiga supply a pretty excellent tutorial for newcomers. The first thing you’ll notice is the lack of minions, something that’s become rather commonplace for MOBAs. There’s no need to farm for gold to buy gear. In fact, there’s no gear to purchase at all. Characters level up by taking out enemy heroes and by summoning or capturing monsters at waypoints throughout the map. All of this culminates in powering up your Guardian for an attack on the enemy’ Guardian. Once a Guardian has been knocked down, it’s up to your team to dish out enough damage to wound it. Score three successful wounds and it’s game over.

Each character’s unique abilities branch off into a mini skill tree, adding more firepower to your arsenal. For example, for several of my games, I selected an assassin-type character named Tyto. He can flip around the map, send his little pet to weaken his opponent, and can spin around whirlwind style for massive damage to multiple targets. As he levels, it’s up to you which of these traits you should strengthen. Are you a hit-and-run type of player, or do you like to dive in guns (or swords) running?

At present, matchmaking is fairly limited but gives a very good sense of things to come. During Quickmatch, you can select not one, but several heroes that you’d like to play. This is pretty nice, since it allows you to play the exact hero that you want to play. Once your team is assembled, you can change it up if you’d like, provided you do so within the time limit.

Common complaints about MOBAs are game length. Games such as League of Legends can drag on for an average of 45 minutes, not counting time spent selecting champions. Gigantic clocks in well under that time limit. Most of my games seemed to clock in around the 15 minute mark at most, which felt perfect.

Gigantic is currently running in closed beta on weekends for both Windows 10 and Xbox One. You can score a beta key by reaching out to us on Twitter (@SKNRGareth), e-mail at gareth@sknr.net, or leave a comment below. Please note that the game is currently under an NDA, so while you’re free to talk about the game, streaming and posting of screenshots are not permitted.

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