‘FBC: Firebreak’ first look: it's like left 4 dead but with remedy’s quirky, surreal touch

FBC: Firebreak is a quirky, surreal co-op shooter set in The Oldest House, with 3-player squads fighting the Hiss.

: FBC: Firebreak, developed by Remedy Entertainment, is a co-op shooter set in the strange world of The Oldest House, six years post-Control. Players form three-member Firebreak teams to fight both the mysterious Hiss and the corrupted employees within. Featuring innovative Crisis Kits and Research Perks, it offers diverse equipment for various playstyles, with currency collection being key. Remedy ensures all playable content is free post-launch, with optional paid cosmetics, aiming for cross-play and lower PC spec requirements with full ray tracing support.

Remedy Entertainment’s FBC: Firebreak promises an exciting cooperative, online first-person shooter experience. Unlike traditional games, Firebreak allows players to engage the Hiss in The Oldest House, a setting renowned for its enigmatic architecture and supernatural occurrences. The game is set six years after Control’s conclusion, with the headquarters sealed off to contain the Hiss. Firebreak introduces a team of government volunteers as brave warriors tasked with infiltrating and eradicating the entity, offering a mix of trepidation and intense action.

Mike Kayatta, the game’s director, has revealed that the structure of FBC: Firebreak revolves around customizable Jobs. Each Job consists of unique objectives, crisis points, and environments that the players must navigate. By customizing Threat Level and Clearance Level, players set combat challenges and determine the depth of rewards. Notably, there are more than three clearance levels, introducing corrupted items during gameplay, adding layers of complexity to the missions, as Kayatta highlighted.

An intriguing element of FBC: Firebreak is its feature of Crisis Kits – specialized loadouts tailored for diverse playstyles. Three specific Crisis Kits, namely Jump Kit, Fix Kit, and Splash Kit, equip players with unique tools and playstyles. Each kit includes specialized tools like the Electro-Kinectic Charge Impactor and BOOMbox or abilities like the Crank-Operated Fluidic Injector and Humidifier. Players also customize their runs by setting Threat and Clearance Levels to define the combat difficulty and reward type, allowing them to tailor their gameplay experience.

Another standout feature is the game’s progression system using Research Perks, where players earn currency by completing Jobs and stack perks to amplify their effects. As Julius Fondem, community manager states, equipping multiple perks of the same type not only strengthens the perk but also enables players to share its effects with teammates. The ingenuity here lies in the reward system design where players earn XP and proficiencies, even if they fail to escape alive, encouraging experimentation and creativity during gameplay.

FBC: Firebreak also adopts a commendable stance on monetization. Remedy Entertainment pledges to provide all post-launch content free for players, with income derived solely from paid cosmetic additions. Players experience a gripping mission titled ‘Paper Chase’ during media previews, which featured flying yellow sticky notes transforming into enemies, showcasing Remedy’s recognizable dark humor intertwined with intense gameplay mechanics. Overall, FBC: Firebreak is on track to captivate with cross-play support and a rich array of weaponry, as it launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.

Sources: Engadget, Remedy Entertainment

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