Odyssey Interactive believes that the best multiplayer games are built around a very simple set of rules and a miles-high skillcap. The team cites Super Smash Bros. and Rocket League as perfect examples of its philosophy, because those games are right at home on both mildewed dorm-room couches and glitzy esports arenas. So it should be no surprise to anyone that Omega Strikers, the studio's debut that enters its closed beta period today, possesses that erstwhile mechanical clarity where everyone understands the rules after watching about 30 seconds of gameplay. This is a three-versus-three soccer-ish future-sport, augmented by chaotic, platform-fighter combat and a League of Legends-style tray of abilities. You win by scoring more goals than your opponent, of course, which is made easier when you knock them out-of-bounds and start their respawn timers. It took a few minutes for me to become competent with Omega Strikers, but it'll require thousands of more hours to truly master it. And that's exactly how Odyssey likes it.
Odyssey Interactive is composed of former Riot Games developers, and you can see that Runeterran heritage throughout Omega Strikers. This is a hero-based game, with character silhouettes that evoke the fineline demigods that regularly storm the trisecting arteries of Summoner's Rift. I spent my time with Juliette, a spunky woman with raven hair, metallic knee pads, and a white headband that always seems to be flowing in the wind. But you can also take control as Dubu, a giga-sized hamster with boxing gloves and a belt buckle that reads TOFU; Atlas, who appears to be dressed in Super Saiyan power armor; and eight other spiky-haired superstars. All of them have their own bespoke kits and are built to fill specific roles, but generally, an Omega Strikers build features two forwards who are in charge of controlling the ball, scoring goals, and eliminating the other team; and a goalie, whose job is self-explanatory.
Once you're in a match, Omega Strikers feels like a stripped-down, FIFA-fied version of League of Legends. Riot's flagship product can be a bit overwhelming for newcomers with its intricate shop, marauding NPCs, and thick glossary of keywords. But here, you'll be using the same basic control systems (right click to move around the map, press a dial of keys to dribble the ball) for the singular purposes of scoring goals. This is augmented by whatever Q, W, E, and R abilities your specific hero brings to the table. Juliette can streak across the battlefield with a veritable Falcon Kick to intercept loose balls, she has a short punch that can prod rival players out of position, and she has a flurry of jabs that briefly stuns and punts her opponents. She's positioned as the novice character, because the other heroes have some truly wild, game-swinging abilities. (Dubu, for instance, can fabricate an impenetrable barrier in the middle of the field, like a pinball bumper, to ricochet shots on goal.)
The game gets a lot more complex the deeper you sink into the meta.
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The more I played Omega Strikers, the more I wanted to see what the game might look like in the hands of professionals. The game gets a lot more complex the deeper you sink into the meta. There's a level-up system at play here, which makes players faster and stronger as they swarm back and forth to control the pitch. If you're in the crease in front of your goal, your cooldowns will be dramatically reduced, allowing for some spammy defensive heroics. If a character takes enough punishment, they'll eventually be staggered — which means that they'll go flying across the map when they're targeted. It seems clear that players will be able to outfit their Omega Strikers squads with a whole variety of flavors and strategies. Do you want to hunker down defensively and slow the pace? Do you want to streak across the map, putting immense pressure on the goalie while leaving your own posts unguarded? Or do you just want to beat the opposing team into submission? I don't know what's viable, but I do know that anything is possible.
If you're a Twitch streamer, there's a good reason to become great at Omega Strikers. Odyssey is adding all sorts of social media integrations to make the game easy to stream, but boldest of all, there will be a season-long tournament after launch where the communities that represent certain prominent gaming personalities can compete against each other. They'll secure victories for their preferred content creator, which will bless them with some earth-shattering prizes. Chief among them: The creator whose community comes out on top receives one percent of all net revenue generated during the first season of Omega Strikers. That is an unprecedented monetary boon, especially if Omega Strikers is a hit out of the gate.
All of these elements give Omega Strikers a serious bid for esports notoriety. Odyssey Interactive certainly has the pedigree to create a multiplayer sensation, and Omega Strikers is already polished to a mirror shine — to the point that I'm actively recruiting friends for –my upstart squad. Yes, Odyssey's dreams of Twitch ubiquity and professional leagues might be lofty, but they're certainly putting their best foot forward. Now we'll see if the rest of the world takes notice.
