The arrival of Evo 2017 always comes with a host of announcements and this year is no exception. While many would’ve thought that Arc System Works’ new announcement would be the icing on the cake at this year’s tournament, Wavedash Games have broken through with the reveal of their new game Icons: Combat Arena.
Icons: Combat Arena is a free-to-play platform fighter coming to PC. With a beta launching on Steam this fall, Wavedash Games are attempting to bring the feeling of Smash Bros. Melee to the PC.
Some members of Wavedash Games are well-known for their work on the Super Smash Bros. Brawl conversion Project M, which aimed to make the game more like its predecessor Melee and appeal to the competitive crowd. While the mod was being worked on for years, Nintendo hit the group with a host of legal threats back in December 2015 causing them to pull away from the mod’s development. Now, with a host of ex-developers from Blizzard, EA, Riot Games and more, Wavedash are back and better than ever.
The game’s Smash Bros. inspiration is worn clearly on its sleeve, bringing with it a host of familiar moves and techniques from the popular Nintendo fighter. Wavedashing (of course), edge hanging and mid-air charges are all in the game as well as a number of notable movesets which appear to be very close to moves and animations from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Wavedash are listening to the communities feedback, which as of now is highly critical of its identical gameplay style to Smash as well as mass disapproval with the game’s audio and visuals, and the team will be tweaking the game to accommodate this feedback. While many fans of Smash Bros. do want more platform fighters, it would be nice if instead of cloning what is already established, Wavedash would create its own identity. As of now, many are attributing its reveal trailer to that of a Chinese Rip-Off of Smash. Hopefully, Wavedash Games are able to polish Icons before its beta release and make the game feel unique.
Published: Jul 17, 2017 05:00 am