When I first joined the gaming news industry, my main assignment was producing Valorant content. I’ve played Riot’s FPS from day one, but have since fallen out of love with online shooters because the gameplay just feels slightly repetitive (and I’m not as good of a shot as I once was). The Finals piqued my interest because it did something different, but its rapid decline means I’ve only taken it for a spin once or twice. Yet, a part of me still yearns for some good ol’ fashioned head popping, so when I caught wind of Strinova, which is a bizarre mashup of Riot’s FPS and, surprisingly, Genshin Impact, I was intrigued.
In Strinova, you play as one of 12 different Superstrings in 4v4 matches, each of whom are spread across three different categories: Controller, Duelist, and Sentinel (three categories Valorant players will be very used to). Each character belongs to their own faction (the Painting Utopia Society, The Scissors, and Urbino), each of which has its own definition of what ‘humanity’ actually means.
Much like Valorant or Overwatch, characters have the own unique ability sets, as well as their own specific weapons. As a Controller main in Riot’s FPS game, I immediately checked out Meredith, whose powers revolve around sandstorms and cutting off sightlines. Duelist Fuschia, however, can spot low-health targets and execute them at speed with her Bloodbath ultimate.
But Strinova’s real selling point is the fact that you can play as both 2D and 3D versions of your character. Strinova is, in the lore, a “multidimensional space,” so characters can be fully 3D one moment, then switch to their 2D versions to get through tight spaces, or avoid bullet sprays.
It’s this that actually drew my attention to Strinova, because I’ve never seen anything quite like it. The ability to flip over to 2D and avoid certain death is pretty damn powerful, but it’ll make landing that coveted headshot even more satisfying.
If all of this has you intrigued, the Strinova closed beta test is running right now, concluding on Sunday, June 30 at 6pm PST / 9pm EST / 2am BST / 3am CEST. You can either request access on Steam, or participate via the game’s official website.
If you, like me, are looking for some new adventures for you and your friends, then we have a list of all the best multiplayer games on PC. Alternatively, if it’s that Genshin Impact-style aesthetic that drew you to Strinova, we have a list of all the best anime games, too.
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