Snowbreak: Containment Zone is a third person PVE-shooter set in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world featuring AAA level of visuals, waifu characters, and gacha gaming mechanics.
🟩Pros
+Amazing gunplay and shooter gameplay
+Beautiful character designs and abilities
+Stunning AAA level of visuals
+Intriguing storyline
+Controller support
🟥Cons
-Lackluster enemy AI
In Snowbreak: Containment Zone, the player assumes the role of an Adjutant, navigating the mysterious and devastated ‘containment zone’ while controlling a squad of waifu heroes with diverse skills, gun types, and abilities. The game features a gacha system for unlocking and acquiring new heroes, each with their own unique traits and tiers.
Currently in closed beta testing for the PC and Mobile platforms starting today, I had the opportunity to try out the PC version for a quick spin. Powered by Unreal Engine 4, the game provides stunning visuals, AAA level of graphics mixed with an anime art-style, and dynamic environments that immerse players in a freezing barren city.
The game's storyline is set in the near future, after the catastrophic event known as the "First Descent" in 2057. This event brought about the Titans, immense beings that ravaged the city, leaving behind only a desolate wasteland. In response, a select few individuals known as the Manifestations were discovered. These individuals possess the essence of the Gods and are recruited into the Heimdall Force, a specialized paramilitary organization created to combat the Titans.
It almost started out like an Isekai-type story, with the protagonist waking up in the middle of the "containment zone". Thankfully, it isn't that way. Now we have an in-universe protagonist with a real background story. However, there is still a mystery that players have to unravel.
The game’s cutscenes are fully voiced in English, however, for many of the story elements, it is still running on text-based dialogue in which I hope it is only temporary. It also features anime inspired music that keeps players pumped during gameplay.
As an Adjutant, players have the opportunity to unlock and choose from a diverse selection of waifu heroes with various skills, gun types, and abilities. These weapon options include assault rifles, submachine guns, close-range shotguns, and sniper rifles, allowing players to tailor their gameplay style to their preferences.
The heroes and weapons are unlocked in a gacha-style manner, where players have a chance to acquire them through randomized draws. Different tiers are available, even for the same characters, providing a sense of rarity and collectibility. This system adds an element of excitement and anticipation as players strive to obtain higher-tier heroes to enhance their squad.
Upon starting the game as a new player, you are already provided with three basic characters in the first few minutes, as well as trying out other hero types. These initial heroes offer a solid foundation for gameplay and allow players to familiarize themselves with the mechanics and dynamics of the game. As you progress and unlock more heroes through the gacha system, you can expand your squad and diversify your team's abilities.
You can level-up your unlocked characters either by completing missions and gathering EXPs or consuming gathered resources to quickly level them up.
Players can control one character at a time but switch seamlessly between the other two party members with a short cooldown, utilizing their individual strengths and abilities to tackle various enemies. Characters have two abilities, a standard ability and a special ability. Additionally, players can call upon the support ability of their squad members temporarily during combat. The seamless switching between squad members and the option to call for support during combat adds a layer of strategy and variety to gameplay.
The combat in Snowbreak: Containment Zone is highly satisfying, with responsive gunplay and impactful hits against enemies. Playing on PC with a keyboard and mouse, the game felt like a really well-made shooter, without any floaty controls whatsoever.
The variety of weapon types, such as assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles, cater to different synergistic playstyles and allow players to adapt their approach to different combat situations. The game's weakness is in the enemy AI, which can be somewhat stale and lack energy, which honestly isn’t really an issue with these mindless PvE shooter types of games, and this is counteracted by the many different types of enemies that can force players to try out a different approach for each type.
There are many activities in Snowbreak, one example is the Operations where you can target specific farming like currency, resources, and materials; and of course, playing the Main Story missions which are divided into chapters. These chapters consist of a combination of combat missions and visual novel-style cutscenes.
As a gacha game, it includes familiar features like login bonuses, weekly events, grinding game modes, and premium currency. Ofcourse, not everything here is final but currently the gacha rates are too low. If you love collecting the best of the best characters, this might become an issue. However, mechanically as a game and as a free-to-play experience, I find the game highly enjoyable as a shooter, with fun gunplay, character switching, and cool abilities.
Snowbreak: Containment Zone features partial controller support, the game working properly, complete with on-screen button prompts when I tested it with an Xbox Wireless Controller. You can also customize button bindings to suit your preferences. However, it still requires the use of mouse to navigate around menus. For the android/ios version, I expect the same thing, with proper controller support for gameplay while still necessitating the use of touchscreen for menu navigation.
Snowbreak: Containment Zone delivers a satisfying gaming experience for fans of the PvE shooter genre and those who enjoy collecting and customizing waifu characters. The fun combat, intriguing storyline, and stunning visuals make it a game worth trying when it comes out on July 20.