As PvE co-op shooters go, FBC: Firebreak sometimes feels middling, but it also has a good amount of potential to be quite fun with friends. And as it launches for free as part of PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass for June 2025, I’m sure we’ll see plenty of players diving in since there’s no real downside to giving it a shot.
I think there’s a solid chance for this game to catch on with a certain community of players, but it will most likely be defined and carried by the group of people you play with. There is some joy to be had elsewise, but this one feels like it’s been designed specifically with friendship in mind, and the solo or matchmade experience won’t be worth it for most.
In FBC: Firebreak, you basically play as a hazmat crew deployed in the weirdest environments imaginable. Set in the world of 2019’s Control from Alan Wake makers Remedy Entertainment, you’re tasked with cleaning up some really weird stuff while fighting against supernatural zombie-like enemies known as the Hiss.
There are three playable classes (known as Crisis Kits) that serve as a basis of how you play, each bringing their own unique equipment to start out with, supplemented by different weapons and grenades. The Fix Kit gets a giant wrench to quickly repair things (or smash enemies over the head), the Jump Kit gets an electric cannon to zap things, and the Splash Kit has a big water gun to put out fires or control crowds of enemies.
Classes and characters can be upgraded through Requisitions (like a battle pass) as you take on Jobs, including new weapons, tools, items, and augments, along with perks that unlock via leveling up. Each new addition strengthens your character and makes the game a bit more accessible as you progress through Jobs.
The classes serve as a baseline, and you’re not beholden to much within each one’s loadout, other than their equipped tools. You can choose which weapons, grenades, and perks to equip for each class, so there’s some flexibility in choosing how you play each mission. You can even swap Crisis Kits within the entry elevator after spawning or respawning on each Job.
Firebreak’s downfall may be in its lack of variety, as the game has just five Jobs (similar to Left 4 Dead’s different scenarios) that you can play and replay. There are more scheduled as live updates throughout the year, but the offerings at launch feel slim.
Each time you finish one Job, you unlock a new Clearance level and can go further within the level, with three Clearance levels per Job. The higher the Clearance, the bigger the challenge, but you can also use additional modifiers and tougher difficulty levels to make things even harder on yourself.
The idea is to beat and replay missions, unlock new gear and perks for your characters, and continue to replay them on higher difficulties to progress through Requisitions and unlock new stuff in the Research skill tree. This structure here is again reminiscent of Left 4 Dead, which was supplemented by an addictive Versus mode, of which Firebreak has none. It’s pure PvE that’s meant to be repeated.
Unfortunately, Firebreak’s base gameplay and gunplay are pretty unremarkable. Each Job has a mundane task, like putting out fires, repairing generators, destroying sticky notes (seriously), or melting ice anomalies. Most of it is done with interacting with elements in the missions and tapping alternating L1 and R1 buttons to fill up a meter to finish the task, as enemies periodically spawn in waves, culminating in boss fights when you reach goals. The QTE-like L1-R1 stuff gets old quick as it’s everywhere in gameplay, but I suppose it serves as an active way to do something that otherwise might have just been a simple button press.
The real fun begins as you get to the higher-tier difficulty Clearances and endgame levels with boss fights, oppressive swarms of enemies, and tasks to complete, where teamwork becomes paramount. You may have one player assigned to a task while another clears adds, and the third player swings back and forth, but how you decide to clear each mission is up to you.
I’m sure fans of Control will get even more enjoyment out of this game, as it’s set within that universe and features its characters and enemies. Unfortunately, that one’s been in my backlog for years, so I have little connection to the franchise. But the good news is, I still found some joy in it without having any idea what was going on, so there’s no need to play the first game.
When FBC: Firebreak leaves Game Pass and PS Plus, it will be $39.99, so make sure to hop on and grab it to give it a try while you can.
The post FBC: Firebreak review – Some potential for good friendship fun, for free—for now appeared first on Destructoid.