There are a bunch of long-running live-service games out there, and it’s impossible to keep up with them all.No Man’s Skywas the most I was looped into regular updates for any game, but I’ve even slipped away from that over the last few months.
Well, there’s a game calledWarframethat came out recently.
12 years ago is recent. I’m young.
I was never really sure what Warframe was. I knew it was about some exo-suit things, spaceships, aliens, and a lot of action combat. Maybe that’s actually a perfect summary, but my perception of it was surface-level, and I didn’t actually play any of it - until now.
It Doesn’t Matter Who You Are, You Can Be A Cool Guy Too
It only took a couple of hours of me playing through the opening missions with some friends - one of whom is a long-time player of the game - to realise just how good it feels to play. We were charging around, bullet jumping, slamming down AOE attacks, and slashing away at countless enemies like a breeze. It was pretty straightforward, and while it didn’t initially offer too much difficulty,it was just a fun video game - and I loved it.
There are certainly types of games where difficulty can be preferred, and I’m a big fan of FromSoftware’s games, but I’m never going to pick up Warframe with that in mind. I just want to be overpowered. I want to slice and dice, do a pointless flip through the air, maybe slide on my knees for an unreasonable number of meters, and then shoot an alien in the face. You know? Cool Guy activities.
This isn’t a game I’m in a rush to play through either - I mean, first off, it has over a decade of content to experience so I think I’ll pace myself; But it’s also one that feels like it’ll be great to just dive in with others every so often and fight things. No thoughts, just shooting.
As Easy As It Is To Play, I’d Probably Struggle On My Own
That said, this is a multiplayer-focused game. Not quite an MMO, and certainly one you could power through on your own, but it’s primarily structured around taking on missions with others, and joining up in squads or clans.
The menus and systems are relatively straightforward, especially when compared to other MMOs or online experiences. Here, the UI is streamlined, and the core mechanics are explained as they’re incrementally added to your ship.
Even then, I knew I’d absolutely get overwhelmed or feel like there was too much to learn if I was playing alone. It happens plenty in other games, and this would be no different, but playing with others - even if they’re learning it too - is a great way to explore something like this and have a better chance of sticking with it.
You might be totally fine getting into this game solo; a lot of it is probably dependent on the type of gamer you are.
With how much fun it is to play with friends, and how much of a Cool Guy™ this game makes me feel, it’s one I wish I could have played so much earlier - this has been around for over a decade.
But at the same time, I’m very appreciative that I get to experience it now. Not only with the people I’m playing it with and in the better-than-ever state the game is in compared to 12 years ago, but I’m so excited to have the whole package to look forward to. So many missions to undertake, so many customisations to unlock, so many playstyles to experiment with, and so many ways for me to be cool. What more could I want?
