Fate Trigger: The Novita was recently revealed a few weeks ago, and I was immediately interested in seeing how this one would turn out. An “anime girl battle royale” is something I’m surprised has not yet hit the scene, and Fate Trigger seems primed to fill that void. After spending hours testing the game with the recent Alpha Test, I’m happy to share that I had a blast playing Fate Trigger: The Novita, and with the right tweaks, this could become a major player in the battle royale space.
The best way to describe Fate Trigger is a blend of Apex Legends, PUBG, and Call of Duty. Most of its main inspirations derive from those titles, but the developer has gone with plenty of unique implementations. This is a traditional battle royale game, and there are hero classes to choose from. Essentially, characters, known as Awakeners, are divided into four major classes, each with unique abilities.
I spent most of my time during the Closed Alpha playing as either Soarwynne or Eos, who both have solid abilities that can come in handy for traversal. On these Awakeners, the character designs are all great, with multiple major voice actresses like Kira Buckland starring. For a game with this appeal, that is essential. The development team has already released a few skins for some of the characters during the Alpha, and I’m already starting to picture how much demand there could be for various skins and such. The possibilities for collaborations with massive anime IPs seem endless, and the original characters are all great so far.
Mechanically, the game plays as smoothly as you’d hope for a battle royale shooter. I found a handful of different weapons throughout the Alpha to use, including an LMG, Shotgun, SMG, and Assault Rifle. Aiming feels great, with the jump from third to first-person when aiming down the sights feeling natural. The inventory system feels very similar to both Warzone and Apex, with backpacks available and all sorts of sights and attachments available on the ground. Upon landing, you can automatically pick up items simply by walking near them. This also applies to the crates of dead players once they’ve been eliminated. While this system works with minimal issues, determining what items are available in your inventory can get a little frantic.
Next, some of the classes are better than others. The Assault Class, which I mainly spent time with, had limited abilities outside of the mobility aspects. Other classes have the ability to build towers and cover to hide from incoming fire, which can be a lifesaver when in an open field or when attempting to revive a downed teammate. Eos has a dash that allows her to quickly zip across the map twice before a cooldown. This is handy, especially given the sheer size of the map, but it feels less powerful than something like portable cover.
Fate Trigger: The Novita offers multiple control types that I found easy to use. One is made for the game, one for players familiar with games like PUBG, and another for Apex Legends. The flexibility was welcomed, as it allowed me to test out different control schemes without having to start from scratch on my own. Beyond controls, I was very impressed with the graphics. Saroasis Studios is using Unreal Engine 5 for Fate Trigger, and the team has done a great job at capturing a terrific amount of detail in character models, the environment, and weapons. The cel-shaded look is visually pleasing, with the performance running well above 60FPS at 1440p on my PC.
Despite the fun I had, there are a few areas I hope the development team addresses. Movement within the game feels fluid and fresh, but the characters do not sprint fast enough. With a map so large, it can be challenging to rotate from one area to the next, especially if you do not want to use a vehicle. Additionally, I’d like to see some sort of slide mechanic added. Both Apex Legends and Fortnite have a fluid slide that allows for a quick getaway when under fire. Right now, you are limited in what you can do in an open space.
As for the second point, I believe the map is far too big. Fate Trigger‘s map is, at the very least, as big as Warzone, if not bigger. Now, this can be remedied with faster movement, but I do not believe that will alleviate the slow pacing I faced in the middle of matches. During the Alpha, there were stretches within matches where I would not see any players for up to ten minutes. While this was not a dealbreaker for me, it can be very off-putting for some players as it gets old quickly. There’s also the fact that a lot of the map is open, which can sometimes make it feel empty with the massive scope. Shrinking the map by around 25% would create a much tighter and more enjoyable game overall.
Beyond these points, I’d also like to see trios and duos modes implemented in the future. Squads can be a lot of fun, but often, it can be challenging to pull together a group of four people at once. Additionally, more work into the weapons and abilities would only make the game stronger.
I spent almost a dozen hours playing Fate Trigger for the Closed Alpha, often finding myself wanting to go for one more game during play sessions. I’m looking forward to checking this one out again in the future, whether it be a beta test or the full release. Overall, I am extremely impressed with the game, especially considering it is currently only in an Alpha state.
The success of Fate Trigger: The Novita is ultimately tied to the improvements the developers at Saroasis Studios are able to implement on the road ahead. There is a great, if not fantastic, base here, and I’m looking forward to watching this one evolve. Saroasis Studios already seems to be involved heavily with its community, asking for feedback on the Alpha through social media.
Fate Trigger: The Novita will release for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, iOS, Android, and PC via Steam in 2025.
