Gigantic: Rampage Edition Hands-On Impressions: Like Riding A Bike Again

2017's Gigantic was a fun MOBA experience while it lasted; the roster of heroes was fun and unique, the main Clash mode put a cool spin on the format, and each match played out in that sweet spot of «not too long, but not too short either.» It was poised to make a decent disruption in a then-crowded scene…but unfortunately, that disruption never came. Within a year, the game was shut down, lost to time, and thought to be forgotten.

Enter Abstraction, a studio known for restoration projects like Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. With the backing of Gearbox Publishing and a partner in Arc Games, the team has brought back the competitive MOBA in a big way throughGigantic: Rampage Edition. Whether or not the game can stick around this time remains to be seen, but at the onset the game is still a ton of fun to play. 

The main gameplay mode of the original release, Clash, remains in Gigantic: Rampage Edition – teams will gather power in order to summon their Guardian and incapacitate the opposing Guardian, which can then be attacked for a brief period of time. First Guardian brought to zero health will result in a win for the opposite team. The large roster of characters fill all manner of expected roles, from mages to melee characters, attackers to healers, and more. 

In trying different characters in each match, a few emerged as early favorites. HK-207 and his long-range assaults would come up clutch in big moments, particularly when my Guardian was activated. Ramsay is an ultra-powerful character up front, with devastating melee attacks that can take down an enemy before they have a chance to react. The Margrave, meanwhile, is a tank's tank capable of absorbing a ton of damage before getting killed. These are the characters I got to really experiment with, though – there are still over 20 to check out, which include some long-range mage attackers I've got my eye on.

Playing Clash mode feels like getting back on a bicycle for the