Announcing ‘Edenbrawl’. Part MOBA, Part Brawler: Full “Mobrawler”
Combining adrenaline-pumping brawler combat with the endless depth and strategy of a MOBA, Edenbrawl (formerly ‘Circuits and Shields’) is looking to make a splash in a unique genre they’re calling the “Mobrawler”. This unicorn mashup aims to hook players in at hour 1 while retaining the addictiveness of “one more match” at hour 10,000. With the unique, headlining game mode “Edenball” looking like a high-speed combination of Capture the Flag, FIFA, and traditional brawler mechanics, Edenbrawl is shaping up to effectively combine multiple game types to create a thrilling experience.
With many of their contributing developers working previously on ‘Battlerite’, combat in Edenbrawl feels positively familiar to the critically-acclaimed, but short-lived title. Players control a single champion via WASD movement, weaving in auto attacks and targeted spells all the while dodging and ducking enemy skillshots. These skillshots include “flick-casting”, which allows players to adjust their aim at the last frame, creating a methodical mind game between opponents on who commits first. They’ve also introduced “roles” like Vanguard, Assault, and Support, which highlight teamplay and make winning truly a group effort. It’s fast paced, but Edenbrawl has promised to maintain the skill ceiling that made Battlerite addicting while implementing subtle design mechanics that allow newer and less skilled players to thrive.
Along with polished and intense combat, Edenbrawl introduces some classic MOBA mechanics into the mix, taking it’s primary inspiration from Heroes of the Storm. The talent system takes shape in the form of Augments and a streamlined item shop is introduced to add a new layer of strategy without taking away from the addicting combat. On top of the modernized MOBA systems, Edenbrawl introduces an all new game mode called ‘Edenball’ where players work to grab a ball and carry it into the enemy team’s endzone. Teams must work together to expand their territory via the “line-of-scrimmage” mechanic all while balancing offense and defense to finally score the ball. It’s an incredible back and forth that feels methodical and strategic, yet chaotic in a beautiful way.
Development for Edenbrawl began by utilizing a freelancer only model with over 200 individuals contributing to the game as of 2021. Despite having zero full-time team members, then ‘Circuits and Shields’ gained a grassroots following, hosting alpha testing sessions over the weekends, constantly tweaking and improving gameplay, including entire reworks of ability systems, ball carrying, and items based on player feedback. These sessions peaked in summer 2021 as the team hosted a $1,000 tournament attended by 14 teams that became a shining example of the game’s potential in a competitive environment.
As the game continued to improve, Circuits began to acquire media and investor attention, including being awarded an Epic Megagrant in Summer 2021 and officially re-branding as Edenbrawl. The once purely freelance team was formalized under “Worldspark Studios” whose goal is to “create games that push the world around us in a positive direction.” Worldspark forms with a star-studded roster of former Riot and Blizzard veterans, along with an advisement team that includes a couple former world champions!
Polishing off Edenbrawl is Worldspark’s expansive plans to grow out the universe in a concept they call the “World of Eden”. While brawlers and MOBAs are traditionally light on story, Worldspark promises an expansive universe penned by acclaimed narrative designer Matthew Garcia-Dunn. Taking place in ‘Eden’, the single constant in a spanning multiverse, Edenbrawl has an extremely colorful cast of champions covering the ridiculous, the badass, and everything in between. More than just a story, Eden also serves as the hub for future Worldspark games, serving as what they call “World-as-a-service.” This hub supports Edenbrawl’s Play-to-Earn (P2E) model where players can earn real-life rewards via their NFT marketplace that spans across all of their titles. And of course, Worldspark promises these are all purely cosmetic and they’ll never feature any pay-to-win elements. You can find more info on their Eden plans at http://edenbrawl.com/world-of-eden
With a solid vertical slice under their belt that features seven champions and two playable game modes, Edenbrawl is currently looking to finalize their expansion via publisher or venture investment. Plans include expanding the champion roster and creating new maps, but most importantly, adding the AAA quality layer of polish on what already exists as a solid foundation. Per founder and CEO Chandler Thomlison, Edenbrawl was “built iteratively by a disconnected group of individuals rather than cohesively by a singular direction. ” Worldspark is now excited to unite under their all-star veteran team and push Edenbrawl forward, including plans for a beautiful hand-painted art style to put the artistic cherry on top of an already mechanically and technically fantastic experience.
Rather than making yet another MOBA clone, it’s clear Edenbrawl is taking a hard look at the aging genre and looking to address the pain points by introducing streamlined systems and ramping up combat intensity to a 10. The “no-match-like-the-last” combination hits you with a constant barrage of adrenaline-pumping moments supported by thoughtful strategies and tactics that are required if you want to succeed in their unique ball-focused game mode.
Edenbrawl is currently in closed Alpha and you can play now by applying in their Discord at http://discord.gg/Edenbrawl. The developers promote a highly transparent and feedback-driven process so players are encouraged to submit their criticisms or just stick around to learn more about game development as a whole.
