In a sea of samey copycat hero shooters, Fragpunk is doing it right

GamesFPSIn a sea of samey copycat hero shooters, Fragpunk is doing it rightWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: NetEase)

Hero shooter Fragpunk

For a genre built entirely on the appeal of its characters, recent hero shooters have woefully lacked spice and creativity. Poor, forgettable designs have made recent failures and underwhelming hero shooters on the horizon (sorryConcordandProject Ethos) look like trend chasers showing up years late to the party. However, there is one upcoming hero shooter that’s doing everything right: Fragpunk. It’s giving the genre a shot of adrenaline it desperately needs right now.

I put 20 hours into the closed beta last month and found that its main twist and unparalleled presentation are genuine innovations for a genre that’s been pretty stagnant since Overwatch came onto the scene almost a decade ago.

There are even dynamic Shard cards that power up depending on how many points you invest as a team, like you’re boosting your squad’s Discord server. The card Extra Converter, for example, allows you to spawn additional bombs on the attacking side. In one match we eventually got up to five bombs so everyone on the team could hold one. Imagine that in a game of Counter-Strike.

FragPunk | Closed Beta Preview - Coming Oct 10! - YouTubeWatch On

FragPunk | Closed Beta Preview - Coming Oct 10! - YouTube

Combinations of cards can completely change how you approach rounds as they can massively swing the odds of a win. In one game my team used Freestyle Placement, which allows you to plant the bomb anywhere, to place the bomb in our own spawn. We then dropped several weapons with Weapon Morph to place turrets all around the lanes to defend our spawn and the bomb, effectively turning us into the defending team while still on offence. I can’t say any other competitive shooter has allowed me to do that before.

This is a huge design risk—shard cards effectively break the game and can give one team a massive advantage, but your ability to counter them with your own Shard cards actually balances each round surprisingly well. Even if you don’t have the perfect counter, you may gain an advantage over the opposing team in a different way. It also forces you to think outside the confines of what your hero can do and the basic lane-structure of a given map. Flexibility is paramount every single match. You can’t win with just one strategy. I constantly had to adjust to new obstacles, challenges, and gameplans from the enemy team, and that variety got its hooks into me during the closed beta.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

The heroes, known as Lancers, have unique abilities without exception. They don’t fall into the pitfall Valorant is in where all walls function in a similar way or every smoke looks and plays similarly. Fragpunk doesn’t want to create a balanced experience—at least not at that level of minutia, and that’s what makes it exciting.

(Image credit: NetEase)

Hero shooter Fragpunk

One problem games like Concord faced is that all the heroes felt like they had been dragged from different universes and smashed together. The abilities didn’t gel together well, and the gameplay wasn’t offering anything you couldn’t find elsewhere. Plus, none of their personalities were reflected in the gameplay or dialogue. None of that’s a problem in Fragpunk.

Character kits are themed and abilities fit their playstyle. On top of that, these Lancers are bursting with personality, not only in their abilities but also in the designs, voice lines, and character intros in the menu. The game opts for what I can best describe as an acid-trip comic book style with a vivacious presentation full of movement and bright colours whether you are in a menu or the middle of a gunfight.

(Image credit: NetEase)

Hero shooter Fragpunk

Fragpunk feels alive in a way few other shooters in the modern era do, and in a way that feels strikingly out of lockstep with the sensibilities of AAA publishers who have been playing it safe for years. There’s a reason games like Fortnite and Apex Legends have had seasons that return to the gameplay and guns available at launch. It’s because they know it worked once, so surely it has to work again.

Instead of feeling sterile like hospital walls, Fragpunk’s menus are filled with little stylish presentation strokes. Characters are crafted in a way where their designs and personality elegantly fit their functionality. Shard cards crank up the variety of matches with an indie roguelike-esque zeal. They aren’t afraid to let rounds take wild swings and force players to adjust to it.

(Image credit: NetEase)

Hero shooter Fragpunk

Fragpunk is set to launch in 2025 on PC, and there is likely to be more betas early next year ahead of that launch. Don’t miss it—this is going to be one of the best shooters of next year.

More about fpsTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’LatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

More about fps

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

Money money money.

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

FBC: Firebreak

The most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

LatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

Latest

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

the last of us season 2 trailer

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

See more latest►

Most Popular

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals