By Eric Curtis on August 8, 2014 at 11:00am
A while back, we reported on "Chroma Squad's" demo that debuted at PAX. We have been patiently waiting for this beta, and it has finally arrived. For those who backed the beta level of the "Kickstarter," the demo updated on steam, and now you own the beta.
The first thing you'll notice is customization has improved a lot. There are a few more "actors" to choose from for each role, and you can see their suit displayed beside them so you can get a better idea of what the color looks like. Of course, you can name them what you want, but its also very important to put actors in the proper role. Some actors will do better as the lead, and some will be a better scout. Make sure to check the stats on each actor, and choose wisely.
The beta instantly feels different from the demo as the difficulty has sky rocketed. All your "Chroma Squad" members are low levels, and your suits are a lot less stylized. Enemies do way more damage even when "Chromatized" and this forces you to think a lot more about your teamwork moves. Of course, you can take an action to move and then attack or move and then teamwork. This allows you to boost the movement of another team member or if you stand next to them, do a team attack.
Another thing thats new is the heroes can use weapons now. Just your standard gun or sword weapon can be used, but they are really powerful. If one hero teamworks with another hero and a weapon is used, all of the heroes will pull that weapon out and attack at the same time, doing massive damage. There are a few different things you can buy in the shop to equip on your heroes: better suits, gloves, and boots that increase different stats, as well as the much needed defense.
After each episode, you receive money for that episode based on your audience bar and return to the main studio hub. Here you can access the shop, crafting, marketing, studio, and actors. Crafting is where you can attempt to make new items and weapons that will have random stat bonuses. You can also recycle the old equipment into scrap materials to help craft other items. The system for it is simple, but really fun to see what you're gonna get. Marketing is where you see who you're contracted with and what your deal is. You can also browse for other contracts and see who you want to contract with. The studio tab allows you to purchase upgrades for your studio that help your actors or just overall episode performance. These cost money but are very useful to you in the long run. Of course the actors tab is where you can see all your actors, their equipment, and their stats.
This beta allowed us to get a better idea of what the full product is going to be. It really showed us the potential "Chroma Squad" has as a whole. The beta ends with the finale of Season One in a huge mech fight that was spectacular. Of course this is a beta, so bugs are still a thing but nothing is game breaking. I never ran into a single thing that just made the game no longer work or impossible to beat. For those of you who aren't able to play the beta, there are a few Let's Plays on YouTube to check out. Otherwise, stay here at Player Theory for more "Chromatizing" action!
Chroma Squad Kickstarter
