The re-emergence of Babylon's Fall at E3 this year probably didn't rank among your show highlights. I had to double-check if it actually happened; it was that unmemorable. The idea of the Nier: Automata developers creating a live service game is one of the main bugbears of fans - the E3 2021 trailer has a like to dislike ratio of 1:6 - but the blurry visuals and plodding gameplay did little to temper concerns. The good news is that Platinum Games has remedied some of these issues for Babylon's Fall's recent beta, but I can't really say it did much to get me excited for the upcoming PC game.
The clearest improvement in the beta is that the murky, muddy visuals have been cleared up considerably. A Babel-esque structure looms in the distance as you enter Babylon's Fall's central hub, blending into the horizon like a medieval oil painting. The shops and vendors of the Sentinel Force HQ that make up your more immediate vicinity are much clearer in contrast, and I didn't find myself reaching to wipe my screen as I did with the E3 trailer. The stylised, painterly aesthetic remains, but now you can actually see the gorgeous structures that make up the world.
Accepting a quest from the town's mission board sends me to the grandiose ziggurat in the distance. It was once home to the Babylonians, but is now besieged by a new empire that seeks to claim its treasure. You play as a new breed of superhuman soldier called a Sentinel, sent to unwillingly pillage a lost civilisation of its treasure at the behest of the Domitinian Empire. The relic implanted in your back - called the Gideon Coffin - grants you instant access to four different weapons, with each weapon assigned to its own button prompt. This General Grievous-inspired twist on combat keeps combat feeling fresh, and I had a blast slashing, bludgeoning, smashing, and piercing enemies, often in the same flurry of attacks.
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