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''Awesomenauts'' is a
multiplayer online battle arena Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that im ...
(MOBA) video game developed by Dutch video game development company
Ronimo Games Ronimo Games is a Dutch video game developer founded in 2007 by former students of the Utrecht School of the Arts. History The team that formed Ronimo Games initially came together under the name of Banana Games,PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
consoles in May 2012, and for Microsoft Windows systems in August 2012. It was later ported to
OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
and
Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
. Another version of the game, ''Awesomenauts Assemble!'', incorporating all the changes and additions available on Windows, OS X and Linux, was released for the
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
in March 2014 and for the
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
in September 2016. In May 2017, the PC version of the game transitioned to a
free-to-play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
title, incorporating an in-game currency and reward system to allow players to gain access to new characters and other customization aspects. In September 2019, Ronimo Games announced that development on the game has stopped indefinitely. Despite this, ''Awesomenauts'' is still available to play, and the game maintains a consistent player base on
Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
.


Gameplay

''Awesomenauts'' is a
multiplayer online battle arena Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that im ...
(MOBA) incorporating elements from 2D
platformer A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
and
fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
s. At the start of a match, a player selects from one of the available characters known as "Awesomenauts". In addition to unique looks and voice-over work, each Awesomenaut has a vastly different set of base attributes such as health, movement speed, and attack strength, and regular and special attack moves. In the game's primary match mode, two teams of three characters, selected before the match, are pitted against each other, with the goal to destroy the other's team's Solar Collector within the enemy's team base before the others do the same. Both teams have to fight their way through enemy players, automatic drones, and turrets that block the path until destroyed. Some maps contain other obstacles, such as a giant pit monster that consumes anything immediately above it that can be summoned by standing on a button. Upon death, the player may respawn back at their base after a short delay that gets longer as the game progresses. Maps include health pickups and Solar units, the game's currency. When a player kills an enemy or a turret, every member of the team earns Solar. When a team destroys a turret, a super-drone is generated that can take and deal more damage as it heads towards the enemy base. As the player earns Solar, they can return to their base (either by moving there or through a short teleportation sequence) to heal and spend the Solar on various upgrades to these skill sets or character attributes. For each of four areas - the two special skills, the regular attack, and general attributes - the player can buy up to three of six available improvements, with some improvements which can be bought multiple times with benefits stacked. With the release of the "Starstorm" expansion, each match also features team experience and levels. The game starts both teams at level 1, and experience is collectively earned through killing enemy drones or Awesomenauts or taking out turrets. Each level slight improves base attribute values for all characters on that team, such as attack strength and healing rates, up to a maximum level of 20. The default game mode is ranked play, which puts players into 9 different ranks and attempts to match players within these ranks; Romino Games subsequently will reward players that finish at the top ranks on the completion of a season before resetting all rankings. The game's servers will adjust the player's ranking depending on their performance. Within ranked play, no team can have two or more players using the same Awesomenaut character. If necessary, computer-controlled opponents will be used to fill out a team, and if a player drops out of a match, they will be replaced by a computer opponent. Other modes allow for more variations but do not contribute towards ranking. Such modes include skirmishes where the singular character limit is removed, and round-robin modes where every time a player is killed, they are randomly assigned to a new Awesomenaut. Single and local players can also engage in practice matches against computer-controlled teams.


Development

''Awesomenauts'' was announced for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network on 19 May 2011 in a press release from publisher DTP Entertainment. The first playable build of the game was revealed for and played by the attending press at E3 2011. A release date of 2 May 2012 was later announced by developer Ronimo Games on 3 March 2012. The game was ported to Windows and Steam on 1 August 2012 with an OSX version arriving on 7 December 2012 and a Linux version on 29 May 2013. Ronimo Games announced a PlayStation 4 release, co-developed with Abstraction Games with improvements and updates from the PC version as well as DLC, on 14 August 2013, intended for release with the console's launch. The PlayStation 4 version, entitled ''Awesomenauts Assemble!'', was released on 4 March 2014 following a delay to the console's launch window. On 2 June 2014, Ronimo Games announced an Xbox One version of the game, originally slated for Summer 2015 but later delayed to Fall of the same year. Built on the second version of in-house 2D engine Ronitech, originally developed for '' Swords & Soldiers'', ''Awesomenauts'' was described by Ronimo Games' Joost van Dongen as a MOBA combined with platforming elements, similar to but significantly different from other games in the same genre such as ''
League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...
'' and ''
Defense of the Ancients ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA'') is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) mod for the video game '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' (2002) and its expansion, '' The Frozen Throne''. The objective of the game is for each team to destroy ...
''. Ronimo Games specifically created for the upgraded engine a number of real-time editing tools for levels, animations, and effects, largely non-existent in the development of previous titles, for use in developing the game. The game's art style and direction were stated by Ronimo Games as being inspired by colorful, over-the-top animated series from the 1980s. Music for the game was produced in partnership with award-winning Dutch recording studio SonicPicnic. The game has been updated regularly by Ronimo with new characters, balance changes, game modes, UI updates, visual overhauls, and matchmaking improvements since its release.


''Starstorm'' expansion

In August 2013, Ronimo games started a Kickstarter campaign for additional content entitled ''Awesomenauts: Starstorm''. The goal of the project was $125,000. By the end of the Kickstarter campaign, over $345,000 had been donated on via Kickstarter, with PayPal bringing the total to over $400,000. Several stretch goals were reached, including a new map, a replay system, and a spectator mode. In addition to the three new characters planned for the paid DLC expansion (Ted McPain, Skree, and Sentry X-58), two extra characters were included after stretch goals for them were met (Penny Fox and Nibbs). Ronimo Games' studio head Jasper Koning said the company opted to go to Kickstarter for further development due to their bad experiences with their console publisher DTP Entertainment, who had gone bankrupt after ''Awesomenauts'' released on console, but whom they still must pay from every sale of the game.


''Overdrive'' expansion

A second paid DLC for ''Awesomenauts'', named ''Awesomenauts: Overdrive'' and featuring three new characters (Professor Milton Yoolip, Chucho Krokk, and Jimmy and the LUX5000), was released on 3 March 2016. The release of the expansion was accompanied by the release of several new free features for all players, including matchmaking improvements, a new character (Ix the Interloper), and a graphical update for the character Sheriff Lonestar. Later Max Focus was also added to this expansion.


Transition to free-to-play

In April 2017, Ronimo announced that they would transition the personal computer version of the game into a
free-to-play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
title by May 2017 with the game's 4.0 update, which was completed on 24 May 2017. In the free-to-play version, players earn in-game currency, Awesomepoints, for winning matches, which can be used to purchase characters, player icons, and other customization options in the game's store. Players gain experience towards a player level, while also leveling up each of the characters when they play as that character; leveling (player or character) will reward the player with Awesomepoints or other customization options. As many players had purchased the game and downloadable content before this point, Ronimo provided a transition scheme that those players were automatically given credit for owning specific characters and other customization options, along with unique customization options establishing the player as a "founder" to others.


Reception

Upon release, ''Awesomenauts'' received fairly positive reviews, earning
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
scores of 75/100 and 77/100. The PlayStation 4 version of the game, ''Awesomenauts Assemble!'', earned a Metacritic score of 74/100 following its release on 4 March 2014. Most critics have praised the game's utilization of streamlined elements of the MOBA genre and their accessibility to newcomers, especially those on consoles. ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' Austin Light noted that ''Awesomenauts'' "serves as an excellent introduction to the genre for the uninitiated and is a fun spin on familiar tropes for MOBA veterans." In his review, ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' Mitch Dyer stated that the game "distills a complicated, largely PC-only genre down to its essence, and it does so mostly successfully."


Sales

The game sold close to one million copies by August 2013.


References


External links

* {{Portal bar, Video games 2012 video games Indie video games Multiplayer online battle arena games Split-screen multiplayer games MacOS games Linux games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games Side-scrolling video games Video games developed in the Netherlands Windows games Xbox 360 games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Xbox One games Multiplayer and single-player video games DTP Entertainment games