Genre: Action Indie Sports Early Access
Developer: Proletariat Inc.
Publisher: Proletariat Inc.
Release Date: Sep 30, 2016
Streamline is a game made by Proletariat Inc. The development team previously made World Zombination, a massively multiplayer online game for mobile devices. Streamline represents their first PC title, and it released simultaneously on Steam as well as Twitch – in the case of the latter, it is probably the first game to come with the new Twitch launcher, as well as the first game you can outright buy from Twitch (Nuclear Throne doesn’t really count as that was subscription-based), or get free with the recently launched Twitch Prime. There are in-game item exclusives depending on which platform you acquire the game from.
As its name suggests, Streamline is firmly rooted in online video game streams (only Twitch is supported for now, but there are plans to extend this to YouTube Gaming, Hitbox and Beam, among others). The basic gameplay is that of a hunter versus players. Players roam around the map trying to pick up the most points as possible, all while avoiding the Hunter, whose goal is to eliminate these players. Players can boost their running speed in order to make points worth more, can pick up the points from eliminated players, and can also stun other players including the hunter. For balance, the players have limited boost, but they can replenish it via pickups, while the Hunter has a steadily regenerating boost.
While all this is happening, the audience votes to influence the action via Proletariat’s own system Streamote. They can bet on who will win, buy modifiers that will trigger in-game, or vote for modifiers while a game is running. There’s even a bingo game that tracks actions or events that happen mid-game – the viewer who completes his bingo card the fastest gets the points for that bingo round.
The integration of the systems is superb, since this game was literally BUILT for the experience – and while I was playtesting with a couple of streamer friends, the experience on the whole has been nothing short of positive. Matches were all around fun to play, and even hilarious when you eliminate your friends from the round. The graphics looked quite decent, and there’s also a wide variety of quirky cosmetic equipment. After each match you play, you get a loot bag with an item inside, so that is how you build up your cosmetic equipment collection.
With it being in Early Access, there still needs to be work done on it. The resolution options are surprisingly limited, I had very few choices to choose from, and none of them were an option that I preferred. There’s also only 5 maps total, and because one of my friends would get sick during the map with the water, that reduced our choices to only 4 to rotate from. Lastly, my largest point of contention is the point regeneration – it’s way too little. Buying modifiers can cost a lot, even though you start off with 10k points for every single streamer – you’ll deplete that 10k very quickly, especially if you buy a lot of modifiers…or bet huge on a person who then loses. Incidentally, I’m also slightly concerned that there is potential for collusion with regards to betting, where a player who had a big bet put on him purposely loses the match, giving the large amount of points to whoever betted on the winner.
Pros:
- Built around, and well-integrated with, Twitch as the primary experience
- Decent graphics
- Solid and very fun/hilarious gameplay
- Kooky and colourful variety of cosmetic equipment
Cons:
- Very limited number of maps
- Very limited resolution options
- Point regeneration in streams is way too little compared to how much is being spent
K3W3L gives Streamline an Early Access Drastik Measure 7.8 out of 10 (78).
Remember, as this is an Early Access review, this score will not be indicative of the fully finished product when it launches. That said, whatever is already in is a ton of solid fun. If you love playing games with Twitch streamers very often, it’s worth the $20; otherwise you may find limited mileage out of it. But if you get it free with Twitch Prime (I believe the promotion is time-limited), definitely give it a shot.
Choose wisely where and how you buy it from though, since each storefront has their own vanity items, as well as pros and cons. Buying from one storefront will not grant you access via the other place; that is, if you get it on Steam, you can’t access it via Twitch, and vice-versa.
