FBC: Firebreak, in the best and simplest way possible, feels like a classic co-op extraction shooter. Dealing with hordes and struggling to keep them at bay while you and your friends try to survive had me thinking back to games like Left 4 Dead – a game the likes of which never made a return in modern gaming, despite the short-lived attempts of Turtle Rock’s Back 4 Blood.
Yet even so, some may argue that FBC: Firebreak is too simple a game, with little in the way of longevity right out of the gates, especially when compared to modern live-service titles. But the fact that FBC: Firebreak isn’t trying to compete in that space is actually a great thing, especially in an oversaturated genre that is reliant on timed events to get exclusive pixels for your characters. The longevity is there – just for a different market targeted at different attention spans.
Every Game Doesn’t Need To Be A Commitment
While it might only take you a few hours to become familiar with everything FBC: Firebreak has to offer, it’ll take you a lot longer to unlock all the upgrades, perks, and take on the most difficult versions of each job successfully. It’s a small pool with a lot of depth, rather than a shallow ocean with no room to dive.
We often look back at classics of the genre like Left 4 Dead and talk of the ‘good old days’, but how much depth was there to those classics? Or was the longevity of enjoyment because it was just fun to keep going back to? Were games more complex, or did we just have ample free time to play online with our buddies after school? FBC: Firebreak will suffer criticism for not including enough shiny new things when all it’s aiming – and succeeding – to do is to match the old-school vibe.
Even then, Firebreak also has that special sauce that makes games like Helldivers 2 so fun.
FBC: Firebreak Has A Roadmap, Not A Battlepass
Like FBC: Firebreak, you will get the gist of Helldivers 2 in just a few hours. But people love playing. It’s had support since launch, and the passes in which you can unlock new cosmetics and weapons are a great means of offering something new without fully locking content behind a FOMO-ridden battlepass.
Firebreak takes a similar approach. Requisitions are purchasable packs that allow you to unlock new cosmetics and gear (bought using research points earned in-game), while offering no meaningful stat boost to make the experience easier. It’s not pay-to-win, it’s not pay-to-fun, and it’s not preying on FOMO or cashing in on popular franchise crossovers.
Remedy has revealed a roadmap for the year, offering new jobs, systems, and specified that all playable content (maps and systems, rather than cosmetics) will be completely free. You won’t be locked out of new jobs or systems because of monetary roadblocks, and that’s a refreshing change in such a monetary-heavy industry.
FBC: Firebreak isn’t here to be the next big live-service game to stand against the already-established giants; it’s a casual-but-difficult co-op shooter for fans of Control, Alan Wake, and those Left 4 Dead fans still waiting for something to ₴₵Ɽ₳₮₵Ⱨ that itch.
FBC: Firebreak
- Released
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June 17, 2025
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Violence, Blood
