Within the recent ending of the 2020 AP Exams, my friend Sebastian and I have been searching for games to play at home while quarantine lingers on. We started to grow a bit tired of some games we have played, and found a new game by Amazon: Crucible. Seb wanted to try it out: it was free, on Steam(a very reliable gaming platform), and the environment looked significantly promising. On the other hand, I was skeptical. Having understood the massive nature of Amazon and its extensive hand over the e-shopping industry, I felt as if this game was just a mere attempt to expand by testing the waters of video-game development. Regardless, I decided it was fair to give it a shot and see how it handled. Overall, despite some clunky natures of the game, Crucible seems to have a promising foothold within the industry through its clever mixing of other games to create a new experience.

First off: the games itself. Seb and I have been continually playing one of the two modes introduced called Alpha Hunters: a mini battle-royale involving a few numbers of duos, allowing for quick matches with slow-paced combat. As you play, you drop into numerous locations having selected different hunters (each with their own abilities, kind of like Overwatch). To progress through the match and get more powerful, teams need to collect essence by either eliminating hives, stompers, or other hostile creatures or by eliminating other duos. As you increase your levels through essence collection, you not only get more powerful through health and damage boosts, but you unlock abilities as you increase levels; a mechanic similar to that of League of Legends. Combine this with the more realistic style of graphics and textures, and you come up with a clever melting pot of pre-existing games. This, I find to be an incredible blend of all the games you are used to seeing today; combined with the efforts of the developers to maintain originality through its numerous characters and world-building, makes Crucible seem to be an incredibly promising game.

However, there are some things that ultimately need to be fixed. For one thing, Sebastian and I found a lack of optimization. Even though our computers can handle games easily at competitive settings, Crucible makes our systems relentlessly struggle. Fortunately, NVIDIA did release driver updates to handle the introduction of Crucible, but hopefully, there can be more settings introduced to allow the game to run smoother. Another problem is the issue of disengaging and the alliance system. Many hunters are typically faster than others and can disengage ridiculously easy. However, some hunters, especially Drakahl, are able to use this speed advantage to unfairly obliterate and crush other players. I’ve been one to note this problem; playing as Mendoza, especially with his sprint ability, means instant death if a Drakahl comes by. Drakahl’s grab and/or dash abilities basically allow Drakahl to relentlessly destroy others. The alliance system, on the other hand, is rarely used. After the first few weeks of Crucible’s release, I found that no one used the alliance system. Attempts to ally with other opponents led to no response, or continued oppression, sometimes by multiple squads. Overall, these experiences can lead to solo players not enjoying their time, as teams find themselves with significant advantages over them. 

What do you think of Crucible? Let us know in the comments below!