It's been a little over a week since we got the call from FBC: Firebreak and Director Faden to venture into the bowels of the Oldest House once again – this time as a nameless, faceless employee of the FBC.
FBC: Firebreak is Remedy Entertainment’s new Co-Op PVE first-person shooter set in the Control universe.
I have been following the development closely and have been part of a few beta tests, so when the 17th rolled around, I jumped straight in.
What Exactly is FBC: Firebreak?
When loading into FBC: Firebreak for the first time, you are given a brief rundown on what is expected of you, provided some tools, and pushed out the door.
Each mission or job requires you to head into different areas of the Oldest House to fix issues. If only things were that easy. While you are rushing around trying to remove radioactive anomalies, turning on fans, or trying to navigate your way through never-ending always of foam, the good old Hiss keep showing up to ruin your day.
A Kit for Any Crisis
Thankfully, you are given some tools to help you along your way. Sure, they are not great, but they help, right?
As you make your way from room to room, you will come across broken pieces of equipment. These can be fixed by playing a mini game that has you pressing LB and RB in a specific order quickly. It's hilarious mashing away at the buttons while surrounded by enemies, to make things worse, if you make a mistake, you are given a shock and you lose a tiny amount of health.
Thankfully, you are equipped with a Crisis Kit. There are 3 Crisis Kits to choose from, and each one serves a different purpose.
The Fix Kit is equipped with a wrench that is used to fix equipment instantly. So, you will no longer need to play the mini game, instead, equip the wrench and give it a bash. Hey Presto, it’s fixed.
The Jump Kit is equipped with an Electro-Kinetic Charge Impactor, which is used to instantly charge generators, which means no more cold showers.
Finally, the Splash Kit is equipped with a water cannon, which can easily put out fires and can be used to remove status effects on your team.
Stronger Together
FBC: Firebreak can be played Solo, but is a lot more fun Co-Op and definitely designed to be played that way.
There is an interesting mechanic called Resonance. Above your health bar, there is a shield symbol that has some numbers in it. Those numbers are how many team members are close to you. The closer your team is, the stronger you are. Meaning that if you wander off alone, you become an easy target.
Speaking of health, FBC: Firebreak has an interesting health system revolving around water. There are decontamination showers hidden around the levels that will not only heal you but also remove any status effects that have built up on you.
This is also the case for sprinklers. You will notice sprinklers on the ceilings of most offices and hallways; if these are damaged in any way, they will go off, allowing you to bathe in their offerings. Unfortunately, these sprinklers won't heal you, just remove any status effects. However, you can drink from taps around the area for health.
Progression
As you progress through the levels, you will stumble upon classified documents. If you collect them and finish the job, they will be turned into requisition tickets. These can be spent on new weapons, upgrading your equipment, and cosmetics.
They can also be spent on Research, which can apply perks to your kits that will help you achieve greatness. If you put enough requisition tickets into your research, some of the perks can be shared between players.
There are currently 5 jobs that can be played at various difficulties to make them longer. You can even run into corrupted items that buff enemies. These can only be destroyed by a special weapon found in the level.
While there are not a lot of jobs yet, each one is extremely different and doesn't have you doing the same thing.
Performance
I am playing FBC: Firebreak on the Xbox Series X, and I can say that it feels great. The gunplay is snappy, and the level design and gameplay loop is great.
Just like Control, Remedy has outdone itself with the particle effects and visuals. There is a particular level that has you dealing with hundreds of thousands of Post-it notes. When a teammate runs through them, they fly up and swirl around. Not to the same extent as Control, but the fact that it can be done during an online session is impressive.
I am having a little trouble with matchmaking. Not finding matches or disconnection issues are not the problem; it’s the fact that it only ever finds a game on the first level. I can’t tell you how many times I have played Hot Fix. I'm still enjoying it, but I would like to play other levels.
Verdict
FBC: Firebreak never takes itself too seriously and plays on the themes of being a cog in a corporate machine. Your manager is a voice over a loudspeaker, giving you pearls of wisdom but never actually helping. You are severely understaffed and never have the right tools for the job, and with friends, FBC: Firebreak is incredible fun.
Remedy has recreated the Oldest House flawlessly, and it feels like I'm back in Control.
Granted, there is not a lot of content yet, but what Remedy has given us with FBC: Firebreak is the bones of an excellent co-op shooter. Fingers crossed, there will be a steady stream of content to keep me coming back.
If you are looking for some tips to help get you started, see our First Day on the Job tips and tricks Guide.
FBC: Firebreak was reviewed on The Xbox Series X
FBC: Firebreak is available on the PlayStation 5, PC (via Steam), and the Xbox Series X/S. It is also available on Xbox Game Pass
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