When Crucible was announced in September 2016, it was billed as a “last one standing third-person shooter” in which 12 hunters enter an alien hostile world, but only one emerges victorious.
Not only that, it was said that because the world is dangerous, players would have to work together, and make or break alliances on the fly.
Crucible was also supposed to have a 13th player – “a new type of player” – who can broadcast and directly impact the game by creating events. And, it was said, viewers on Twitch would be able to interact with the “gamemaster” as well.
Three-and-a-half years later, as Crucible nears its launch as Amazon’s first ever internally-developed PC game, it’s clear things have changed – dramatically.
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Now, Crucible is a free-to-download, team-based third-person shooter. I got the chance to play it for a few hours, and it’s more MOBA than battle royale. There is a 4v4 mode, an eight teams of two mode, and an 8v8 mode. There’s an emphasis on gathering resources, levelling up your character and working closely as a team to defeat AI-controlled aliens as well as enemy players.