Broomstick League has released into Early Access and if you have ever wanted to play Quidditch, it is about as close as you’re going to get. Blue Isle Studios have managed to put their own magical spin on the sport-arena genre popularised by Rocket League. The resulting game is one that shows big promise, despite it lacking a few key features.
PSA – I am writing this based upon my time with the game in a pre-release beta. Some of the features mentioned and monetisation structure are subject to change.
Rocket League for Wizards
If you are a fan of similar games such as Rocket League, there is a lot of fun to be had in Broomstick League. The game feels tight and responsive (a few keys may need to be re-mapped for ease of use), the score that plays out during each match is epic and inspiring, and each game feels highly competitive. Despite getting my muggle-ass handed to me the majority of the time, I still found each match thrilling to be a part of.
The core gameplay mechanics are simple, with each player having only four main moves available to them; dodge, blink, pass/shoot and tackle. This may seem quite basic, however, all of these main mechanics are polished and much like Rocket League, are simple to learn but hard to master. Using the dodge to build up momentum, grappling onto the ball and proceeding to throw the perfect shot was extremely satisfying to pull off after multiple failed attempts. After facing off against some highly-skilled teams, it became clear that practice, good ability use, and communication are the key to success in Broomstick League.
Objectively the game is very simple; shoot a ball through a hoop to score, the team with the most points wins. Broomstick League offers three main game modes that allow various numbers of players to explore this premise. 3v3, 2v2 and 1v1, as well as a practice mode with options for bots are all available at launch. Unless you’re a veteran to these games, I would highly recommend spending some time in the practice mode to get used to how the game plays and feels. Once you’ve honed your Quidditch skills, feel free to fly right into some matchmade games. Hopefully, you’ll have more success than myself!
Enough Wands to Shake A…Wand At
Broomstick League is launching with a wide variety of customisation options. As well as a robust character creator, budding witches and wizards will have the ability to further express their personality through a range of vanity items.
These vanity items can be acquired through two means. Basic options such as additional hairstyles have the chance to drop at the end of each game along with some tokens. This leads me to the other method of acquirement; through direct purchase via the in-game store. Everything in the store can be bought with either tokens or gold. As mentioned previously, tokens are earnt through gameplay, with gold being Broomstick League’s premium currency. As of right now, no pricing information has been released for gold. However, within the build I played, the tokens dropped frequently enough to make each game feel worthwhile despite me losing most of them.
At launch the game will offer a wide range of options from brooms, emotes, trails and enough wands to put Ollivanders out of business!
Flying for Freshmen
If you choose to enlist early in flight school, I think it’s best you know exactly what to expect as Broomstick League is not a finished title. Launching into Early Access, March 5th marks the beginning of this game’s journey with continued support and updates promised by the developers.
Right now, Broomstick League is a very fun and mechanically sound sport-arena game. It features a wide variety of customisation and some of the most creative arenas I have seen, with each one feeling thematically different from the last. And that is about it. Key features such as competitive play, ranked matches, and a progression system are noticeably absent in the game’s first semester. Broomstick League is a game that feels fun to play without there being any real reason to play it.
Picking it up in Early Access will allow you a chance to get in from the start and support a team of passionate developers. As well as this, you’ll be a Quidditch god by the time the game sees its full release. However, if you are not a hardcore fan of this genre, you wouldn’t be missing out on too much if you held off for a couple more updates. All of the absent features mentioned are coming before the game’s full release. As long as these features are implemented well, Broomstick League has a real chance of becoming a fantastic sport-arena game that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the competition.
You can pick up an Early Access copy of Broomstick League right now from Steam for £10.25/$13.49.
A copy of the game was provided by the developers. I look forward to providing continuing coverage as the game receives updates.
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