“Firebreak” Burns Bright, But Struggles to Find Players
Remedy Entertainment’s “FBC: Firebreak” aims to deliver a cooperative shooter experience set in the Control universe, but it struggles with player engagement despite its innovative gameplay. Is this game worth braving the bizarre crises of the Oldest House?
Unique Cooperative Gameplay
“Firebreak” distinguishes itself with a focus on team-based gameplay, where players select specialized kits that emphasize cooperation. Each team member’s unique abilities are designed to complement each other, offering a strategic advantage when facing the game’s challenges. One kit specializes in electricity, another in repairs and melee combat, and the third in water and turret deployment, leading to a diverse range of tactical options.
Story and Setting
Taking place six years after the events of Control, “FBC: Firebreak” sees players as volunteers within the Federal Control Bureau (FBC). Operating from the agency’s headquarters, known as the Oldest House, which is now closed off from the outside world due to HISS extradimensional invaders, players must respond to bizarre and dangerous situations.
Unlike **Jesse Faden**, the protagonist of Control, players in “Firebreak” lack supernatural powers, relying instead on improvised equipment and teamwork. The game deemphasizes narrative depth to focus on atmospheric immersion and absurd encounters, such as battles against monsters formed from office supplies or musical instruments.
Dynamic Missions and Progression
Missions, referred to as “Jobs”, feature a dynamic structure with randomized elements, adding replayability. Each mission consists of three areas, with increasing difficulty and rewards based on the chosen clearance level. Mission types range from enemy elimination to puzzle-solving and exploration, providing diverse challenges.
The progression system revolves around rewards earned from completing missions, which players use to develop their equipment and skills. While experience points are awarded regardless of mission success, the game’s progression structure lacks clarity, which can be frustrating. However, it is worth noting that the game has made some changes to the progression in recent patches.
The Multiplayer Problem
Despite **Remedy** reporting over one million players trying “Firebreak” (including Game Pass users), finding teammates on Steam proves difficult. The low number of concurrent players online—76 at the time of the article—poses a significant obstacle. As of today, the game has a 24-hour peak of 128 concurrent players according to Steam Charts (Steam Charts 2024).
Graphics and Performance
The game’s visuals are a strong point, featuring a distinct style for the Oldest House. The varied environments, from sterile offices to paranormal laboratories, combined with impressive visual effects and creative enemy designs, contribute to the game’s personality. It also offers complete support for Ray Thracing, including advanced techniques such as Path Thracing. “Firebreak” integrates DLSS 4 technologies with Frame Generation and DLSS Ray Reconstruction, enhancing performance and image quality on NVIDIA GeForce RTX cards.
Players can adjust Ray Thracing settings, with the High setting enabling full patch tracing for maximum fidelity. While Path Thracing is hardware-intensive, DLSS 4 makes it accessible on modern video cards, yielding about 70 FPS on an RTX 5080 at 4K resolution with DLSS Performance. Without Ray Tracing, performance increases to a steady 100 FPS.
Target Audience
“FBC: Firebreak” is tailored for fans of the Control series seeking a relaxed, cooperative experience within the same universe. It appeals to players who enjoy cooperative shooters where coordination and improvisation are crucial. The game’s accessibility, fun, and humor make it suitable for those who prefer a straightforward experience without a complex narrative.
However, it is less suitable for players who prefer single-player narrative games or lack the patience for repetitive sequences. The necessity of a stable group of friends to play with might also limit the enjoyment for some, as playing with strangers can be less rewarding.
While “Firebreak” shows potential, it requires improvements in progression and mission variety to broaden its appeal. Recent patches have addressed the progression and tutorial aspects. **Remedy** needs to attract more players online to ensure the game’s longevity.
