I never thought I would be writing about Paragon again but hey, here we are. Is Paragon still dead? Absolutely. Will the PS4 ever get a new MOBA? Yes. And that game is called Genesis by Rampage Games. Now, Genesis is not Paragon, but after some time in Genesis, I can say that there are a few things that remind me of Paragon and a few new things that Genesis brings to the table. Is it all butterflies and rainbows? No, Genesis recently released and has some issues to iron out, but there is something special lying beneath all of the little problems. Let’s dig in.
First of all, Genesis is a MOBA. In terms of basic MOBA mechanics and objectives, it is relatively typical. You have your three lanes, your lane minions/creeps, and the game pits two teams of five against each other to destroy the others’ core. Nothing revolutionary there. However, one big addition that Genesis implements is a sixty player kill limit, meaning you can win the game by either destroying your opponents’ core or by getting sixty kills first. This definitely aids in making sure games don’t drag on if both teams can’t make headway on the map. But it can also be a great way to come from behind if your lanes are pushed in and you can’t get to your enemies core. If your team can keep the enemy team off of your core and keep scoring kills you can win. This new mechanic can also make the game a little bit frustrating in the fact that you can be dominating lanes all game long but then lose because the other team has more kills. It seems to be a technical dance the devs are doing that is fine for now, but it may need some reworking later on down the road.
The characters in Genesis are really cool and there are a bunch of original characters alongside some we know. You have some like Hades and Zues, but then have some like Joules, a mutated eel that can shock the poop out of you. It is a breath of fresh air to have a game that does not play off of any existing property and just stand on its own. Furthermore, the futuristic/jungle aesthetic to the map is very eye-catching and adds a nice atmosphere to the game.
In terms of game to gameplay, Genesis feels good. Some characters and certain items do feel a little overpowered, but I’m sure that, after some time, things will get nerfed and what not. The meta seems to still be setting in, but so far, I have experienced a little bit of everything. Easy victories, people going afk, my team getting pummeled, comeback wins, and everything in-between. Typical MOBA stuff. The map is laid out nicely and the user interface during matches is easy enough to navigate through to buy items, level up your character, etc.
A few things that I do not enjoy are the slow movement speed and the constant voice lines spewed out by your character. To be honest, I can deal with the slow movement speed, and it may just be that the running animation is also slowed down, making it look really slow, lol. But the voice lines that just keep flowing from my characters mouth all game long are pretty annoying. I would love the ability to turn it off or, at least, turn the frequency down.
In regards to everything else–the skins, the store, the daily challenges, and whatnot– it is all pretty standard. I will say some of the skins look VERY nice. If Genesis can keep supporting the game, I can see myself playing this for a long time and would not mind throwing a few bucks here and there. Genesis also has a campaign mode, but it has been down since I have started playing so I have not had a chance to play that yet. But overall, I am impressed with Genesis. It reminds me of Paragon in some aspects but also brings some fresh ideas to the genre. If you are a MOBA veteran or have never played a one before, I would definitely recommend Genesis. The Discord community is thriving, the game is free, and the devs are constantly working to improve the game. So jump in and give it a spin!
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