Fun game if you enjoy the obsessive inventory management of games like Backpack Hero or God of Weapons, discovering interesting synergies, and having a stress-free multiplayer experience.

Essentially, you pick one of four character classes, each with their own unique starting equipment, shop for gear and items, then find out how your backpack organization skills stack up against other random players. The gameplay loop is quite satisfying.

My main issue (aside from the fact that the characters could definitely use some balancing) is that it's all over way too quickly. You play a handful of rounds and win some trophies, then choose whether or not you wish to continue a few extra rounds to win a few more trophies, and that's it… you're done. It feels like once you finally have a backpack where everything is starting to synergize, the game arbitrarily ends and it's time to start the whole process over again with a new backpack.

There's no sense of progression, as literally nothing you do in one brief playthrough will have any effect on the next. There's also virtually no reward for winning (aside from the aforementioned trophies, which only serve as currency to buy minor cosmetic upgrades for your chosen character). There doesn't appear to be any penalties for losing either (though I haven't lost an entire round yet). IMO, winning should allow you to continue indefinitely, and the penalty for losing all of your lives should be having to restart with an empty backpack.

Speaking of character customization, the options right now are extremely limited, and it takes what feels like an eternity to accumulate enough trophies to significantly alter your character's appearance. You will find yourself playing as and against minor variations of the same four character designs over and over again. This game begs for an in-depth character creation tool. Oh, and if by some chance you wish to play as a male character, you're out of luck.

The art style is good for what it is. I am not a big fan of the character designs, as they all look rather generic. The music is also textbook. It's exactly what you might expect to hear in such a game, for better or worse. Unfortunately, there are only two tracks (one for the shop and one for battles), which will inevitably grow tiresome.

As it currently stands, Backpack Battles looks to be a winning formula. It just needs more of everything, especially a reason to keep players coming back after a dozen or so rounds. I'm giving it a thumbs up in hopeful anticipation that the developers will continue to provide a steady stream of updates to expand upon its foundation.

Fun game if you enjoy the obsessive inventory management of games like Backpack Hero or God of Weapons, discovering interesting synergies, and having a stress-free multiplayer experience. Essentially, you pick one of four character classes, each with their own unique starting equipment, shop for gear and items, then find out how your backpack organization skills stack up against other random players. The gameplay loop is quite satisfying. My main issue (aside from the fact that the characters could definitely use some balancing) is that it's all over way too quickly. You play a handful of rounds and win some trophies, then choose whether or not you wish to continue a few extra rounds to win a few more trophies, and that's it… you're done. It feels like once you finally have a backpack where everything is starting to synergize, the game arbitrarily ends and it's time to start the whole process over again with a new backpack. There's no sense of progression, as literally nothing you do in one brief playthrough will have any effect on the next. There's also virtually no reward for winning (aside from the aforementioned trophies, which only serve as currency to buy minor cosmetic upgrades for your chosen character). There doesn't appear to be any penalties for losing either (though I haven't lost an entire round yet). IMO, winning should allow you to continue indefinitely, and the penalty for losing all of your lives should be having to restart with an empty backpack. Speaking of character customization, the options right now are extremely limited, and it takes what feels like an eternity to accumulate enough trophies to significantly alter your character's appearance. You will find yourself playing as and against minor variations of the same four character designs over and over again. This game begs for an in-depth character creation tool. Oh, and if by some chance you wish to play as a male character, you're out of luck. The art style is good for what it is. I am not a big fan of the character designs, as they all look rather generic. The music is also textbook. It's exactly what you might expect to hear in such a game, for better or worse. Unfortunately, there are only two tracks (one for the shop and one for battles), which will inevitably grow tiresome. As it currently stands, Backpack Battles looks to be a winning formula. It just needs more of everything, especially a reason to keep players coming back after a dozen or so rounds. I'm giving it a thumbs up in hopeful anticipation that the developers will continue to provide a steady stream of updates to expand upon its foundation.