Battleborn is a first-person shooter and MOBA hybrid that takes place in the distant future where twenty five heroes, all of which are playable, join forces to save the last star in the universe from a mysterious enemy who is determined to destroy it.

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The last star is the only hope for the Universe’s factions. All of the heroes are split between these different factions. The Peacekeepers are the first of the five factions and are the defenders of Solus, the last star. The Eldrid are the second of the five factions and are the motivated by the need to preserve the natural order of the universe. The Rogues are the third faction and are only concerned with themselves and their own survival. The Last Light Consortium is the fourth faction and is comprised of profiteers, the kind of sharks that exploit other people for their own gain. The Jennerit Empire is the last faction and is one filled with warriors, the kind of savages that rule others by force, valuing power above everything.

The game brings together its own unique aesthetic which is one of the best parts about this game with typical Gearbox style co-operative combat. The voice acting in this game is superb thanks to how hilarious the dialogue can be at times. The storyline is great as it acts like a multi-chapter narrative experience with each chapter acting like an episode of a television show. Each episode has a unique plot and can act like a stand-alone story and one that furthers the overall narrative. The story mode can be played alone or with up to five friends either via split-screen or online. Unfortunately, the story is not as long as I would have wanted it to be.

The game is played best with friends and has three competitive multiplayer modes. Multiplayer is a five versus five experience that can be played in either Capture, Meltdown or Incursion modes. Capture is a fast-paced deathmatch where the goal is to hold and control certain objectives on the map. Meltdown is a game mode that requires teams to guide their minions to kill themselves. Points are scored for every minion that enters the incinerator and the team with the most points wins. Incursion is a mode where you must defend your base sentry bots from AI-controlled minions while working with their own minions to destroy the enemy’s sentry bots.

There are two progression systems in this game. All the experience points you earn, either through story or via competitive multiplayer contribute to levelling up your Character Rank and your player profile Command Rank. The Character Rank is a permanent rank for each character that starts at one and currently goes up to ten. Increasing your character’s rank allows you to swap out augments in their helix skill tree and also get access to skins. The Command Rank is your overall player rank and is responsible for unlocking badges and titles as well as loot that can be used to benefit any hero the player chooses to use.

In terms of content, I feel like this game really lacks content. I feel like the five new playable heroes, and additional competitive multiplayer modes, maps, balance updates and community features that they plan to bring in are really needed. The add-on packs containing a PvE Story Operation, exclusive skins and taunts should have also been added to the base game instead of being a part of the season pass.