Frantically fast-paced and filled with danger, power-ups and collapsing floors, Rebound gives dodgeball the cyber futuresport treatment, reinventing it as a local four-player game brimming with different options and playmodes.
Rebound, from Hexterion, is an intense, local-multiplayer take on futuresport dodgeball. While conventional dodgeball rules are in place (if you get hit, you’re out; once it’s bounced, the ball is free to be collected and thrown) there are also breakable walls, collapsible floors and mutators. Yes, mutators.
Mutators, for those not in the know, were massive back in the late nineties’ arena-shooter peak, however are still commonplace in a lot of PC-only competitive games. Always deployed before a match begins, mutators alter elements of the round ahead. These can manifest in cosmetic changes, like big heads or funny weapons, or they can directly impact the gameplay in how it plays and controls. In older titles, as with Rebound, there’s frequently some crossover. Rebound’s big head and arm modifiers not only make your character look ridiculous, but also increase the likelihood of a character’s now-enormous appendage being clipped by a thrown ball.
I was lucky enough to play through a few rounds of Rebound while at EGX Rezzed earlier in the year, narrowly beating my competition due to landing a few lucky powershots on a weak wall they kept hiding behind. Rebound’s quick rounds and insta-kills make for short, tense matches.
Mutators can be set up prior to each match; alternatively there are playlists that cycle through the map and mutator selection. It’s a great way to quickly hop into a game with three friends — and cuts out long-winded set-ups. It also has an element of surprise, which is always useful in giving some longevity to smaller, co-op-focused titles, as these can sometimes become repetitive after several plays due to having few, well-developed mechanics. This is something the mutators will likely help with — in general, anyway.
Rebound doesn’t currently have a release date, but when it does launch it is likely do so for PC. If you’re interested in following the game, you can do so via its Twitter @Reboundthegame
