Contenders: Arena Hands-On Preview – ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Shooter’ [EXCLUSIVE]

Contenders: Arena is a chaotic team-based arena shooter with a fluid and fast-paced movement system that feels like a mix of Warframe and Titanfall. Its momentum-based movement, diverse loadout options, and intricate map layouts set an impressively high skill ceiling, and there’s no doubt that the game’s competitive multiplayer scene will be spectacular to behold once players inevitably master the ins and outs of the game’s mechanics.

Game Rant spent an afternoon playing Contenders: Arena with and against members of its development team, giving us a lot of insight into how the game may look and feel in the hands of players who know exactly what they’re doing. That being said, Contenders: Arena felt very accessible for newcomers, and we had little trouble getting up to speed—quite literally—and making meaningful plays in our matches. It’s a frantic game where no player lives for very long, so although each kill and flag capture was a satisfying achievement, our deaths were minimally frustrating.

Our preview consisted of several rounds of capture the flag and team death match in 3v3 compositions, which is the team size that Contenders: Arena feels most suited for. During our conversations, the developers noted that 3v3 is a great team size to minimize queue times, and it also makes it easier for groups of friends to play together. After all, it’s easier to find two friends to play with than four. There being three gladiator archetypes also allows each member of the team to fill a different role, though we didn’t find it necessary to coordinate our team composition.

Contenders: Arena’s Agile Movement Is Its Defining Feature

Contenders: Arena‘s movement system is core to its gameplay, and players must actively engage with these mechanics as much as possible to succeed. Simply running on the ground is the slowest possible way to get around in the game by a landslide, and players will learn quickly that maintaining momentum by chaining together parkour moves is the intended approach. Players can wall run, slide under obstacles, and grind on rails. The speeds players can reach are incredible, with skilled players able to circumnavigate the entire map in seconds.

The larger Defender gladiator also has a distinct movement system compared to the others. It’s too big to wall run or crouch slide, so instead it has a nifty hovering ability and a short-range teleporter. Being the bulky defensive class doesn’t mean it’s necessarily sluggish, however, as the Defender can be shockingly quick by feathering its hover ability after jumping out of a high-speed rail grind or wall run. This ended up being our favorite class to play, and we managed to capture several flags as the Defender as we teleported through barriers and hovered over opponents on the way to score.

The game’s level design pushes players to utilize their full range of acrobatics both because it’s a wise tactical decision and because it’s simply pure fun, and consequently, the developers revealed that playtesters have jokingly dubbed the gameplay “Tony Hawk’s Pro Shooter.” Precision and intention with movement are critical: the game doesn’t have much “magnetism” to save players from just barely missing a ledge, and wall running isn’t automatically triggered when approaching a wall. We found ourselves occasionally plummeting to our death due to a malfunction of our fine motor skills, but the prospect of a game where movement demands a measure of skill is appreciated.

Contenders: Arena’s Custom Loadouts Are Fun to Experiment With

Although the three available gladiators largely fit into offensive, defensive, and nimble archetypes, the game’s loadout system affords players lots of room to experiment. Each gladiator has its own set of weapons to choose from that mostly land somewhere on the scale between slow, hard-hitting, precision weapons or rapid-firing bullet sprayers. There are a few unique choices that mix things up as well, such as a particle beam weapon that can be devastating with some consistent aim. Melee weapons are present, but they’re not a primary weapon by any means. Instead, they’re an incredibly satisfying way to obliterate an opponent who has made the mistake of getting too close for too long.

Aside from weaponry, the gladiators can also choose a combination of two special abilities, and the choices feel meaningful as each ability has pros and cons such as a handheld shield that greatly boosts survivability but reduces the player’s speed in a game where speed is a precious resource. Players focused on running for the flag may want to equip the invisibility skill, though it’ll deactivate if they take any offensive actions.

Our personal favorite, by far, was the magnetic hand: this ability allowed us to either push or pull opponents in strategically creative ways. We could defensively push enemies away on our way to score a flag, shove opponents into a nearby lava pit, or pull them toward us to land a risky melee kill. The level of customization on offer adds a lot more unpredictability to matches than hero shooters with a more rigid kit design, and we looked forward to rearranging our loadouts between matches to uncover interesting synergies.

Contenders: Arena Has A Healthy Amount of Cosmetic Choices

On the subject of customization, there are several ways for players to express themselves visually in Contenders: Arena. Each gladiator has plenty of vibrant color schemes to choose from, small charms can be hung from their backs, and players can also choose an adorable little drone buddy to accompany them in victory poses. There are also plenty of Poses to choose from for victory and introductory screens. Many of these can be unlocked by gameplay completing challenges such as “get 20 headshot kills” and “return the flag 10 times,” or by purchasing bundles via the in-game store. Thankfully, the store is purely cosmetic, and it doesn’t look like players will be buying anything game-altering.

So far, Contenders: Arena feels like a no-nonsense arena shooter that’s focused entirely on delivering adrenaline-fueled mech carnage with minimal fuss. The rules are simple, matches are quick, the skill ceiling is high, and both the movement and gunplay are a joy to play with. It’s easy to see how the game could take off among streamers if its competitive scene is given a chance to develop.

Contenders: Arena is in development, and a demo will be available on PC during Steam Next Fest from February 5 to February 12.

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