Firebreak Should Have Looked Further Afield for its Enemy Designs

Though Remedy Entertainment has dabbled with multiplayer once or twice before, the developer’s games are usually single-player, narrative-driven experiences first and foremost. FBC: Firebreak is quite the departure then, putting three-player co-op front and center.

The studio may not be known for multiplayer, but FBC: Firebreak did have a strong premise right out of the gate. Players take on the role of the titular Firebreak team, the Federal Bureau of Control’s first line of defense against paranatural threats. This premise, along with the use of Control‘s Oldest House setting, paved the way for some very creative gameplay opportunities. But FBC: Firebreak drops the ball when it comes to enemy design.

FBC: Firebreak’s Place in the Remedy Connected Universe Feels Like a Step Back

FBC: Firebreak is officially part of the Remedy Connected Universe, but its general premise makes the RCU feel disappointingly small and restricted.

FBC: Firebreak’s Enemy Design Doesn’t Live Up To Its Potential

FBC: Firebreak Relies Too Heavily on Control’s Hiss

Debuting in 2019’s Control, the Hiss is described as a force of resonance that enters the world through an interdimensional gateway that takes the shape of a slide projector. After corrupting the former director of the Federal Bureau of Control, the Hiss are let loose in the Oldest House, where they proceed to corrupt any FBC soldiers who were not wearing Hedron Resonance Amplifiers.

By the time Control protagonist Jesse Faden arrives in the Oldest House, the FBC headquarters have been fully infected by the Hiss, who have managed to create an army of brainwashed workers. These corrupted enemies come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from Hiss with guns, to Hiss with crowbars, to Hiss floating on chairs, to Hiss dive bombers, to heavily armored Hiss with miniguns.

Despite taking place six years after Control, FBC: Firebreak features the Hiss as its primary threat, and the vast majority of its enemy designs are identical copies of those found in Control. In Firebreak, players will face off against the same gun-wielding Hiss, the same Hiss on floating chairs, the same Hiss dive bombers, and the same Hiss with miniguns, among others.

In terms of visual design, attack animations, and behavior, these enemies are essentially exactly the same as the ones in Control and its Foundation DLC. The only new variant is a hulking pipe-wielding Hiss that can only be defeated by shooting the body hanging out of its back.

It’s fun to fight the Hiss from a new first-person perspective, and each enemy type serves a purpose in FBC: Firebreak‘s gameplay loop. But it’s disappointing to see so many reused enemy designs, and the horde-like gameplay of Firebreak means that players will fight these already-familiar enemy types over and over again druing the multiplayer game’s five missions.

The Oldest House Paves The Way for Exciting Enemy Design

One of Control‘s greatest strengths was its setting, and the creative potential it held. The Oldest House is home to an array of Altered Items: seemingly ordinary objects that have been infused with unstable paranatural energy. These objects and the dimensions they come from open the floodgates for creative enemy design, and it’s a shame that FBC: Firebreak didn’t capitalize on that.

There Are Brief Glimpses of Greatness in FBC: Firebreak’s Enemy Design

That said, there are a few brief moments where Remedy’s creative enemy design breaks through. FBC: Firebreak‘s “Paper Chase” mission sees players destroying thousands of sticky notes that seem to be self-replicating. During Paper Chase’s second and third acts, players will encounter Shufflers, fast-moving humanoid enemies that are covered head-to-toe in sticky notes.

The climactic finale of Paper Chase sees players come face to face with Sticky Ricky, a gigantic version of these Shufflers. These enemy designs are incredibly creative, and they ooze with Remedy’s trademark sense of absurdist humor. FBC: Firebreak could have used many more enemies like this, and while new enemy types are coming in Firebreak‘s post-launch updates, they won’t be here until Fall and Winter, which could be too little too late.