Moonbreaker Reveal Trailer Reaction

Article by Kieran Burt.

The latest game from Subnautica developers, Unknown Worlds, and author Brandon Sanderson has got an official reveal trailer, name and an early release date. The game, Moonbreaker, is a completely original concept (a rarity these days), inspired by tabletop RPGs and miniatures like Warhammer. 

The basic concept of the game is that the player creates a team of one captain and 10 additional troops, in order to go against an opposing captain and troops. The core to this game is facing off against other players through online multiplayer, but there are single player modes like offline challenges and Cargo Run, which has procedurally generated enemies to fight against. 

The trailer mostly focuses on the turn-based combat of the game, which looks very weird as the minutatures have very little animation to them, they are just standing in stone most of the time. This does fit the inspiration that the game is going for, but having them attack each other in this still state is something that animation had long left behind. The game feels very lifeless. 

One aspect of the game however that’s directly imported from miniatures like Warhammer is the ability to paint and customise the armies that are used.  There is a painting mode, which is the most interesting feature about the game, as it will allow for player expression. This is an area where players are bound to spend a huge amount of time in, making sure that their colour schemes are just right, and using those units to defeat their opponents. Hopefully this world will have as deep a lore as Warhammer too. 

This game is a huge departure from the open world style of Subnautica, instead harkening back to a time where all games used to be table-top and miniature. According to the Steam page, “every aspect of Moonbreaker is designed to capture the feel of a physical miniatures game without the real-world downsides.” Hopefully because of Subnautica, the developers will be able to entice players to try the genre. 

Moonbreaker releases in early-access on Steam on September 29, 2022.