Probably one of the best cross-play sports games right now | Full Review - Omega Strikers

287236

Omega Strikers is a sports multiplayer mobile game that combines Moba mechanics along with the sport soccer and air hockey.

🟩Pros

+Feels just like any other fun sport to play

+Integrates MOBA elements into its sport gameplay very well

+Free-to-play with no pay to win elements

+Controller support

🟥Cons

-No clear distinction with the roles gameplay wise

Imagine if Air Hockey was instead played in human size with six players having their own superhuman powers with absolutely no physical restraints or rules, Omega Strikers is exactly just that and more. It is a 3v3 free-to-play multiplayer game that is available for Mobile, PC, Xbox, Playstation, and Switch, with complete cross-play functionality. For the purpose of this article, I will be talking about the Mobile version with predominantly touchscreen controls.

Before diving into the specifics, I would like to jump ahead and say that Omega Strikers is absolutely a fun game to experience, and feels as fun as about every other popular sport out there. It also has an added layer of fun by introducing a MOBA gameplay style with different characters to select and abilities to utilize.

Omega Strikers starts you off by letting you select what position to play. Goalie, Forward, or a Any Role (called Flex in-game). A goalie’s job to protect the goal while Forwards either focus on the combat or striking the “Core” to score a goal. They’re just labels though, with no real difference gameplay wise.

Gameplay wise, a goalie and a forward are just the same with no strict mechanical difference, a forward can still protect the goal and a goalie can still go out of the goal area.  This gives players more freedom to play, but is its own detriment in properly giving players roles. Some goalies, especially newbies, have a tendency to abandon their goals and do some hero ball, leaving no one to protect the team goal. Same goes for the forwards who would do nothing to advance the ball and won’t try to score. Some gameplay mechanics could have been made to further accentuate the role difference for players.

Then the game lets you select your character, with their own ability lineup. Then the perks you will need, depending on your playstyle. As for the actual gameplay, the game involves two 3 player teams trying to push the “Core” around and eventually into the opposite goal, while trying to battle with other players and inflict damage to stun, or even take them out of the game for some time.

The battles are ultimately super fun, with the constant back and forth of the Core and the different abilities that the characters use: from the simple dash kick and energy blasts, to the more complex skills that for example spawns walls to block enemies. Overall, the controls are well-built and a lot responsive considering the fast-paced nature of the sport.

The skills are all interesting and varied enough, and the first three characters available for free perfectly embody the three main roles that players might take: A goalie focused tank , a scoring oriented melee forward, and a damage dealer ranged forward. Players can either focus on the Core only – either offense or defense, or also consider doing some heavy damage to enemies to incapacitate them and make scoring more easier.

The two main modes to play in Omega Strikers are Normal and Competitive. Normal is just a short pick up game where the first team to score 5 wins. While competitive is a much more complex game mode with character bans and multiple ‘race to 3’ sets to win the whole match.

The maps also play a factor in Omega Strikers. Initially the goals in the game are blocked by a wall, until a certain mechanic is met by the players. This may mean hitting the wall, or a map element, to be able to trigger the opening of the goal for the opposing players. This means there is an initial fight for the players to unlock their opponents’ goal, and gives players more leeway in the first few seconds of the round.

As traditional with these free-to-play sports games, the game features a live service model; passes, cosmetics, missions, and login bonuses are available for players to partake in. Featuring three main currencies, one for unlocking new Strikers, another for cosmetics, and lastly a premium currency using real money. Fortunately, it does not have an energy system to limit playtime.

Since this is a game that is available for the majority of the gaming platforms, it's not surprising that the mobile version also supports physical controllers to some degree. You can control the characters using the controller, but you still need the screen for UI navigation.

Overall, there’s not much complexity to the game aside from playing 3v3 matches and mastering the skills and abilities of characters, as well as the actual sport itself. But does that not mean that the game lacks depth nor is not fun. In fact, it's probably one of the best crossplay sports games right now. If Soccer has its Rocket League, then Air Hockey has Omega Strikers.