Black Beacon has just landed on mobile devices, but it found us a little sooner than most! We’ve been fortunate enough to get hands-on with the Mythic Sci-Fi Action RPG, and we’re eager to let you know what we think about it.
Black Beacon is an action RPG that emphasizes fast, buttery-smooth combat and integrates character-swapping into the mix.
Shh! This Is A Library!
The game kicks off in the Library Of Babel, a massive and mysterious structure that draws inspiration from both the biblical Tower Of Babel, supposedly built by men to reach heaven, and the Jorge Luis Borges short story, where it is a library that contains every possible combination of letters, thus housing every book ever written within its endless shelves.
You awaken in this strange structure, with little recollection of how you got there, alongside a group of colorful characters who share the same bewilderment. It appears you’ve got a great destiny awaiting you.
Also, everyone’s going to be obliterated by a giant spinning orb within twenty-four hours. Welcome to your first day on the job, Seer! Hope you like bookshelves.
Joking aside, there is something charmingly wild about the setting and story. A library filled with gibberish books, time travel, and numerous mythology references we won’t spoil for you (but we’re sure there’s something mysterious about that bird). The game throws you into the deep end of the story, and that approach works well. If you’re confused, good. We’re pretty sure that’s exactly what the developers intended.
So, what about the gameplay?
Send Me In, Coach
Black Beacon’s moment-to-moment experience is a blend of ARPG and dungeon crawler, with a customizable camera viewpoint. You can opt for a top-down perspective or use a free camera setup where you adjust the view with your other hand. We preferred the latter, but it’s largely a matter of personal preference.
You navigate through the Library’s passageways, progressing towards your goals. The story unfolds in short, episodic sections, each comprising several maps. Accessing a section requires using some energy, though we found the game to be quite generous with how much it allowed us to play.
You explore the area, solve puzzles, hunt for hidden treasure chests, and battle enemies—warped-looking entities that are remnants of people the Library ‘has not fully digested’. Yikes.
Combat is engaging. It’s fast and somewhat button-mashy, yet challenging enough to avoid feeling like mindless busywork. Timing is crucial. A perfectly timed dodge grants you a period of invincibility, while a well-timed heavy attack can interrupt an enemy’s move, saving you from having to dodge.
The game also features a character-swap mechanic that encourages you to switch characters mid-fight. This turns battles into a tag team match, allowing you to bench exhausted fighters, even mid-attack, and bring in fresh ones. Once you master the rhythm, it feels rewarding… until you mistime a dodge and some giant monster sends you flying down the hallway.
Characters And Weapon Rolls
As a gacha game, Black Beacon includes a character and weapon gacha system, with weapons tailored to specific characters. Both can be leveled up, and the game uses a variety of ingredients for this process, but much of the management can be automated.
You’re likely to encounter some characters through the gacha before meeting them in the story. But as the game suggests, the flow of time is convoluted. This adds variety to your experience.
So, what’s our overall take on Black Beacon? It’s a quirky gacha game eager to tell a more esoteric story, with solid gameplay to support it. We’re interested to see how it develops once the full release is out.
Does this sound like your kind of game? Or perhaps a row of shelves in the giant library you inhabit? If so, you might want to check out Black Beacon right now, available on the official website, App Store, or Google Play.
