Platinum Games’ Babylon’s Fall looks to have earned a dubious honor among the games industry, being immediately forgotten upon release. The prospect of a new competitor for a live service game based around the ARPG formula of fighting tough bosses seems like an interesting one. But judging by both critical and gamer’s receptions, there’s just nothing there to sink your teeth into. The fall for this game was even harder than the mess surrounding Marvel’s Avengers, another failed Square Enix project that lost all of its players. But this is so much worse, and there’s no rescuing it.
According to SteamCharts—a website that is dedicated to tracking player counts—there was basically no one interested in the game. For a game published by Square Enix and developed by Platinum Games, it sure didn’t have much of a chance. The launch only saw a peak of 1,100 players, meaning that basically, no one bought the game. It probably didn’t help that almost no one had heard of it over the months leading up to that launch. There was very little visible hype or marketing for the game. And let’s be honest an RMT-driven monetization model was always going to hurt interest in this title. No one likes to open a Steam page and get hit with ads for $90 microtransactions.
As users pointed out upon launch, there was very little done on the part of Square Enix to show off the video game since its most recent E3 showing. It’s also worth noting that the title had been delayed a fair bit into 2022.
It’s certain that not only did the niche appeal of the game not work, it also had to compete with a true titan. Elden Ring came out around the same time, and despite being a very niche title thanks to its reputation and difficulty, it has exploded. The massive contribution of hype from streamers and FromSoft’s legacy certainly puts Elden Ring in a class all its own, but it’s impossible to ignore that the game had an impact on the interest around Babylon’s Fall.
The reality is that the game just didn’t have the magic to compete. Reviews pointed to boring fights that barely had any variety. Some reviews felt that the fights as a Sentinel just weren’t fun, or felt no different compared to previous fights. This alone is a nail in the coffin of this game. A live service game without any replayability is not one anyone wants.
Rock Paper Shotgun went further, saying of the progression: “You rush through corridors and into progressively harder arenas… Occasionally there are yellow orbs to collect on your way, although I haven’t been told what these do. Beat an arena and the game will give you a rank, like Stone or Bronze or Pure Platinum, which also nets you… nothing?” And in an ARPG where motivation through meaningful progression is key, that’s a death sentence.
