Have You Played... Battlerite?

Have You Played?is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time.

I am partial to top-down wizards. It's a perspective that makes plans as important as reaction speeds, where every spell and step is clearly visible to everyone. Battling in Battlerite isn't about who gets the jump on who, it's about who can bait out a jump and counter it with their own wizard nonsense.

It's all so psychological. Matches start with you tiptoeing around your two to three opponents, feeling out their movements. Identifying weakness. Maybe it's that little girl who is also a sea sage, who keeps summoning defensive bubbles when she should be healing her team. Maybe it's the over-aggressive frog assassin. Or the charging, tiny-headed troll.

The last wizard standing might not be the quickest, nor the one with the best aim. They'll be the one who fights their way into their opponents minds, who knows when to dodge and when to counter, who dances around cooldowns and expectations. They'll be the one who gets to bask in the limelight at the end of each round, knowing that every other player has just seen how clever they are.

It's not the healthiest form of validation, but it does feel very good.