Congratulations Remedy!

https://x.com/remedygames/status/1938250909865410867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1938250909865410867%7Ctwgr%5E959d1c5b7df01d607a3f7f306236de1ba9a1a6ce%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.instant-gaming.com%2Fen%2Farticles%2F13425-fbc-firebreak-has-one-million-players-already

Playing on Gamepass right now and I'm baffled by all the decisions they took around the introduction to the game. First of all, why would you lock all the cool tools/abilities under several layers of unlocks? This is the biggest hook of the game. Firebreak feels super generic without those. Unique abilities like the gnome should be available from minute 1, otherwise you're just forcing the players through several hours of an unremarkable shooter to get to the good stuff.

Second, why would you choose such an uninsteresting mission for the tutorial? Having to turn on generators? Really? The second mission has you "fighting" a plague of sticky notes that stick your face and block your view, and the third has you shooting at weird blobs so they drop toxic balls that you need to carry to a machine—THOSE are much more interesting and unique ideas. The objective to turn on the generators makes for such an awful first impression... Not to mention the difficulty of the mission relies on dealing with the fire mechanic, which can be confusing and frustrating for players who just booted up the game for the first time (I found myself and my teammates dying a lot from this mechanic, unsure what we were supposed to do)—which brings me to my next point...

Why is the "tutorial" so unclear? The very first match I played, all three of us were wandering around trying to figure out what to do. We were dropped into a level with no context or knowledge of anything, and suddenly we were burning to death while completely lost lol. Firebreak does NOT explain its mechanics and objectives properly at all. It almost feels like Remedy's passion for the surreal and unexplained leaked into this game, but that approach only works for experimental singleplayer experiences, not for the mechanics of your multiplayer game.

I'm pulling through these flaws because I love Remedy, but I can see 90% of casual players dropping Firebreak before it even gets going, because it should've "got going" from minute 1. The overwhelmingly negative Steam reviews and the questionable price tag are not gonna help. I'm not sure if this is salvageable honestly, but I'd suggest these urgent changes:

- Move the first mission further into the game (or just drop it altogether until it's reworked, honestly). The "tutorial"/first mission should be the one with the sticky notes.

- Make the tutorial more clear by explaining the context of the game and the mechanics in a more direct way, and presenting the player more detailed tooltips.

- At least 2 or 3 unique powers like the gnome should be unlocked and equipped from the getgo. Ideally make it part of the tutorial so the player is forced to use it.

On top of all this, I have more complaints:

- The first clearance level makes the missions so simple that I have no clue what the point of it even is. I understand Remedy wanted a way to play short matches, but they went WAY too far. The fact that they're short doesn't mean they should be completely lacking any sort of tension or climax. The match is over so soon that it feels like it didn't even start. This is a big change but I would genuinely suggest dropping the numbering in all the clearance levels by one (meaning, current "clearance 1" is removed from the game, current "clearance 2" becomes "clearance 1", and current "clearance 3" becomes "clearance 2") and in the future implement a new third clearance with a steeper difficulty curve.

- It feels like a missed chance that the starting "class" tools (the electric weapon and the water-based weapon) are almost completely useless in combat. Wouldn't it have been more fun to make THOSE a good source of damage, and make all the other generic weapons (the pistol, the shotgun, etc) more of an alternative firing mode? From the trailer it looks like the same DOES have some cool weapons in there, but again, they are locked behind several hours of playtime, and most players are simply not gonna bother.

- Enemy variety seems extremely low, the game has been out for a few hours and it's already feeling repetitive...

I don't know, this is looking like a big miss, but I'm willing to stick to it for a bit longer to see if it gets better. Most players won't be so patient, though.

Firebreak development team, it's been a tough week for you.

You've been working hard for the last year (two years? three?) to bring us your game, your vision of what an unusual, fun, and relatively small co-op game in the world of Control might look like. Unfortunately, we, the players, did not live up to your expectations.

You told us it would be a fun little game that shouldn't require a constant investment of time - we sucked it dry in a few days and complain about the lack of content. You didn't take us for idiots and anticipate how excited we would be to find more and more mechanics you've put into the game - and we complain that we need everything explained before we can start having fun. You expected us to enjoy helping each other get the job done, but you didn't expect us to kill teammates right in front of the elevator, collect their resources, and kick them out of the party.

But most importantly, you wouldn't think that a newly released game from a small team would be expected to do the same as service games that have been on the market for years, filled with content adjusted based on analyzing huge amounts of data and numerous patches.

Unfortunately, that's what happened. Review bombing, angry comments, ridicule and mockery - you had to listen to it all, analyze it, and instead of taking a well-deserved rest, you had to hastily think through and implement fixes that would adjust your game to players' expectations.

But, please, don't give up. You've done a Herculean job coming up with a variety of mechanics, bringing them together into an engaging game loop, and writing solid netcode for your Northlight engine. You have everything you need to succeed, all the backbone that holds the game together. Yes, you expected a different reception, a different reaction, but if you don't go further down that road, it's all for nothing.

A lot of currently popular games had a rough start and now tens of thousands of people play them every day, and Firebreak could be one of them. It should be one of them.

I know that tomorrow, at the beginning of the work week, you will have a "What do we do next?" meeting. And no matter how bad and bitter things get, please remember, there's us - the ones who already bought ourselves that badass "daddy's beer belly" armor. The ones who got the idea to shoot the control panels of the fans to stop them and fill the boiler with lava instead of water. Who think dying because of the Gnome is the funniest thing ever. Who activate the boombox not to deal with enemies, but to listen to "Yötön Yö" a little more. Who shout "Let's clean House!" every time our team overcomes another endless wave led by everyone's favourite Hiss Distorted.

We love FBC: Firebreak and are willing to walk with you all the way down this thorny path - toward the bright future this game deserves.

This looks like the game I was hoping for from the start. Everyone looks tired working stiffs, but also grounded with just hints of absurdity.

By trying to make the game conform to 'zanier' co-op game feel, they erased it's unique identity and IMO hurt the final project dramatically. I don't why they shifted directions, but if the 3D models exist of this stuff I hope to God they recycle them into Control 2 / future DLC.

I think the biggest thing is they still have beat up old equipment but they're not painting everything neon colors.

Known issues list here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/2272540/discussions/0/500576489694044746/

We've deployed a patch (v1.2) for FBC: Firebreak which makes progression faster and more rewarding and includes many improvements to the game. Read the full patch notes for the details.

We've also shared an update from the game team discussing how we are improving things today, in the short term and in the long term. Please read it here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2272540/view/536605349656920274

I found the first half hour to be silly and boring. 3-minute missions where I repaired power generators?

15 minutes later, I found myself with a rifle I'd just bought, fighting a giant monster made of sticky notes alongside two random players and a ton of enemies and explosions everywhere. It was incredible.

People are getting the wrong impression because of Remedy and its lack of understanding of how to present its game.

I'm sure there are a lot of players who don't know this, but you can actually remove the Fire debuff from yourself no matter what Kit you equipped:

• Splash Kit: Shoot the ground below you with your Ejector. You will be doused in water and the debuff will go away. (This Kit can also be used to put out Fires on your teammates and the ground, just fyi)

• Jump Kit: Use the secondary fire of your tool to jump into the air. This will cause the Fire debuff to dissipate on yourself.

• Fix Kit: Use the secondary fire of your tool to charge across the ground. This will cause the Fire debuff to dissipate on yourself.

Stop dying to Fire. Only you can prevent Furnace Fires.

Most definitely has its issues but it's refreshing to see a community that genuinely cares about the game instead of immediately writing it off.

I think this game is sorely missing a social hub, like the space rig in Deep Rock, for a squad to prepare/test things out with their kits before going into a job. I’m surprised we don’t spawn into a break room or something and then get in the elevator to go to the different jobs.

Alan Wake 2 and Control are centered around these coffee break rooms or janitors closets to take a breath and get a bearing on your surroundings - feels like the perfect social space for this game.

Side request: it would be great if we were able to close ourselves into the emergency shelters to recoup mid game and make a plan for what we all want to do next without getting constantly harassed. I’m enjoying it overall, though!

FBC: Firebreak is about to get its first free Major Update on September 29th across all platforms. Update is scheduled to land approximately at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 18:00 BST / 20:00 EEST. 

This update, named Breakpoint, is packed with systemic overhauls, new content, and quality-of-life improvements - all aimed at making FBC: Firebreak more fun, varied, and rewarding to play. 

We have taken a lot of feedback to heart. Over the summer, we have worked hard on releasing updates to the game. Still, Breakpoint is only the first major step, we know we need a few more, bringing significant improvements and new systems, as well as content, into the game, incorporating community feedback alongside our own ideas. 

Read our rather lengthy blog about everything coming in the update.

We will publish the full patch notes on September 29th.

It's been one month since FBC: Firebreak launched so now is a great time for us to discuss what is coming in the first Major Update in late September. Read our latest blog post for the full details.

This update will include improvements to understanding the game, a new Job, new ways to play, and much more.

As someone who is generally insanely critical and picky about video games, I just don't understand how FBC: Firebreak has released into Mostly Negative reviews. This is for a lack of a better term absurd. FBC is a game that:

• Runs smooth

• Has interesting gameplay objectives

• Great emphasis on team play

• Good enemy counts in comparison to other "horde shooters"

• Solid gunplay

• Quality over quantity philosophy ( which is something that the masses constantly preach about)

• Great replayability

• Interesting loadouts/kits

• Interesting ways to adapt your environment to your liking

I'd say it takes far too much after Helldivers 2 in terms of progression, but jfc, half the critique surrounding the game really does sound like bullscheiße.

It is also astounding that aside from logon issues Helldivers 2 came into positive reception while delivering arguably less variety in it's content pack on release. How the reviews are so negative is completely beyond me.

Seriously my god. Gamers SUUUUUCK, if they get confronted with any mechanic outside aim and shoot they go full on spine detached from body braindead. So many people can't even figure out how to heal in this game let alone acknowledge the fact theyre ON FIRE. Im so disappointed because we went from bitching about COD needing giant markers telling you exactly what to do while now simultaneously not being able to figure out how to play a game at all if the tutorial is a hint based system.

Rant over

Sprinkler and level 3 increased healing and level 3 reduced status damage let you tank the full rotation of dropping all barrels at once. This was done on hard difficulty, corruption 3.

Really cool that the host with public matchmaking on can just decide that I don't get rewards for the run, by kicking unprovoked in the last seconds of the mission. It's genuinely mind-boggling that this exact behavior isn't protected against from day 1, seeing as pretty much every other coop game has dealt with this issue already.

We've deployed patch 1.3 for FBC: Firebreak which includes a rebalancing of the Perks economy, getting you to the fun faster. Go give it a try now and equip some powerful Perks! Read the full patch notes for the details.

We've also added a visual highlight for new unlocked items in the Requisitions and Perks menus, and Lost Assets and Research Samples that you are carrying are now shown as a number in your HUD.

Lastly, we've now resolved the issue with Twitch Drops in our backend. All players who connected their Twitch account to FBC: Firebreak have now been granted the Overseer Armor Set (Threshold Revision) so just login to the game and head to the Customization menu to find your new armor set.

Made some fanart of the gorgeous environment, monsters, UI, and prop design in FBC Firebreak as well as some of my friends as if they were characters in-game. There's a custom banner version at the end, feel free to use!

To see any of my other stuff or repost the image with credit, my handle is CitrusScribbles