Babylon's Fall

Babylon's Fall isn't a broken action RPG, but it isn't a good one, either – and it's one of the ugliest games in several console generations.

An overpriced game with a solid combat system that's buried under a mountain of banality and monetisation.

There is no one that we would recommend Babylon’s Fall to. It’s visually dated, consistently dull and features the most average PlatinumGames combat we can remember. On paper, the concept of a game like this bathed in the studio’s signature style is an appealing one, but sadly there’s nothing about the Platinum shine that’s evident in Babylon’s Fall.

Babylon's Fall is a confusing jumble of an online action-RPG that's mired in unrewarding activities and loot.

An Exercise in apathy, neither solid nor liquid. Not exactly bad, but not very good either. Just a bit 'meh,' really.

Given the nature of live service titles it's possible that Babylon's Fall could see a phoenix-style resurrection with some rebalancing, but somehow, we doubt it. Hopefully this absolute misfire doesn't signal a profound change in direction for Platinum Games; this title had a troubled conception and it shows, but rather than iterate on things, we'd rather see a return to single player dominance. There's just nothing about Babylon's Fall that warrants going back to the drawing board. Except for that fantastic boss battle in which you race the Batmobile against those jorts-clad pink elephants. Oh wait, that was just a dream we had when the game put us to sleep.

Babylon’s Fall feels like a game that came out a decade ago, both visually and in its gameplay. Combat is clunky and boring most of the time, outside of a few highlights here and there. There’s nothing that encourages players to engage with the live-service elements, despite it being a core tenet of the experience. It’s like someone fed a computer a bunch of information and had it generate an action RPG. Babylon's Fall’s biggest credit is that it’s technically competent; the game isn’t broken or held back by major bugs or issues. It’s a shame, because PlatinumGames has proven itself to be an impressive talented studio. Unfortunately, Babylon's Fall manages to disappoint on just about every front.

Babylon's Fall is an ugly, clunky, incomprehensible mess, and gamers should expect better from both Platinum and Square Enix.

Babylon's Fall is a terrible experience all the way throughout. Reaching the endgame and postgame content (when the game actually becomes quite good) doesn't matter because the journey to get to that point is the most painfully boring affair in gaming. The game's dull story and horrendous visuals certainly don't do this game any favors.

Anyone who's been keeping tabs may not be all that surprised to find Square Enix once again in a precarious spot that is in part baffling but more so predictable given recent history.