Skygard Arena is a skirmish-based, multiplayer-focused hero strategy game that draws ideas from a wide range of sources. It boasts a decently lengthy campaign, featuring 10 really detailed characters with varied and unique abilities, set in an original fantasy world. It’s a lot!
Not all of those pieces come together to make a complete whole, but the combat, characters and varied objectives make this one worth a look.
A whole new (fantasy) world
Skygard Arena is a strategy game first and foremost. You’ll be viewing it mostly from above in a birds-eye view — readability is paramount to understand what’s going on and where the threats are.
Visually, Skygard Arena has heavy League of Legends and DOTA vibes. The characters are stylised and cartoony, festooned with little details like magical baubles and weapons details. They’re all very readable on the tactical map, makinf it easy to understand what’s happening at any given time.
The grid maps that you’ll fight over have a great variety of visuals and effects. Some of them are forests, while others are located in structured arenas and buildings. There aren’t vertical levels to the maps, so it’ll be interesting to see how repetitive the skirmish maps get when you’ve played through them all.
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It’s always a risk to create an original fantasy world. It’s a genre that has so many expectations. But the world of Skygard Arena feels unique and the maps and characters are just one part of that.
A storybook tutorial
The Skygard Arena campaign introduces you to a roster of heroes one after another over 13 missions. You’re following the story of Na Jima, a hunter representing her clan in a tournament to determine which clan gets their hands on the big, magical item that has the potential to change the world.
There’s a range of melee heroes, snipers, ranged specialists and support heroes. Over the campaign, Na Jima’s group will showcase all of the other heroes and clans available. When you’re playing Skirmish modes, you’ll mix and match these heroes to create your team.
These story matches show some cool objectives and ways to play beyond the standard skirmish. One has you defending against waves of enemies, while others need you to hold all the points on the map for a preset time. It’s a shame the multiplayer modes don’t carry over some of this creativity. I’d like to see co-op or wave defence as a casual mode, as well as in the campaign.
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Between campaign missions, you have a camp where the characters you’ve collected share stories. It’s essentially a small campsite where your characters gather, and you can ask them questions about the story and their background. It’s a nice idea to find ways to get to know your heroes. Unfortunately, the writing is a bit weak in these sections; the game feels like it’s been through a few rounds of translation. There’s some light background on each character and the various factions, but it is a massive exposition dump — a bit of “show, don’t tell” wouldn’t have gone amiss.
Birds-eye view
Each skirmish map is played on a small grid, usually with pillars spread out to capture and hold between rounds. The standard skirmish mode is three vs three — your heroes against the opponents’. You need to be first to score 25 points. You gain a point for each pillar you control at the end of the round. There is also a scattering of terrain pieces that block the line of sight and provide cover. For most heroes, this limits their abilities to fire on enemies they can’t see. But a couple of characters have abilities that let them turn invisible or use cover to their advantage.
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Play moves back and forth between each team, ticking everyone off before the round ends. Each character can move and activate a primary ability. However, many characters have access to abilities that allow them to chain multiple attacks as long as there are targets. The hunter Na Jima, around whom much of the campaign flows, has an ability that lets her keep firing her bow — so long as there are enemies that she hasn’t shot yet.
I really enjoyed how much positioning and maneuverability played into the character’s abilities. Most heroes have an ability that allows them to teleport, reposition enemies, or change around the map in some way. So, as you’re playing a match, there is a constant push and pull between setting up your own abilities, while denying the enemy the right position for theirs.
PvPvMe
Outside of the campaign, Skirmish is likely to be where the bulk of Skygard Arena content happens post-launch. At launch, you’ll have access to ten heroes, each with two additional loadouts (called Personas) of abilities. You create a team of three, and then compete in matchmade and custom matches. Over the course of Early Access, the team has been consistently adding new heroes to each of the five factions. Here’s hoping this trend continues post-launch.
The character archetypes will be familiar to anyone who’s played MOBAs or Hero Shooters in the last decade. Each hero has three core abilities and one Ultimate ability that powers up as you play them. Your team is made up of three heroes, so choosing your team is a balance of the abilities you want and the ways they synergise with one another.
There’s also great synergy in how you set up your team. Pairing a hero with the ability to move enemies with one that does big splash damage to groups is a surefire way to land some big numbers.
Should I buy Skygard Arena?
Skygard Arena is mechanically tidy. By focusing on these 3v3 battles, the game is able to do one thing and do it well. The impact of team composition, passive item selection, and abilities on individual matches will significantly contribute to the longevity of Skygard Arena. Beyond the campaign, Skirmish mode will be the heart of this game. However, it might seem slim for some players who don’t have dedicated friends to play with and prefer not to use competitive matchmaking.
I’m keen to see how the game evolves from today, because delivering engaging content, new maps, heroes and game types will be critical to make sure player numbers are strong. Though the technical elements of combat feel great, Skygard Arena‘s longevity will ultimately depend on player response. It’s out now on PC via Steam.
Quest Daily scores Skygard Arena:
7/10
A review copy of Skygard Arena was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this review.
