It seems that despite its overwhelmingly negative critical reception and inability to build a healthy install base, Babylon’s Fall will stick around for a while. In a lengthy March 18 announcement on the game’s official blog, the developers reaffirmed their dedication to supporting the game for at least three seasons.
Babylon’s Fall had an almost mystifyingly poor launch. Over the course of its development, the Platinum-made looter ARPG had made no secret of its jarring art style, questionable design choices, and live service ambitions, holding multiple playtests and sharing copious information through public updates. Then the title launched in earnest on March 3, and to nobody’s surprise, it was universally panned by critics and shunned by players. Babylon’s Fall was lambasted for its repetitive gameplay, obtuse narrative, shoddy graphics, and its gallery of predatory monetization schemes tacked onto a full-priced game.
The general consensus was that the game is an unexpected low for PlatinumGames, though completely in line with publisher Square Enix’s single-minded push to break into the live service market. Unavoidable comparisons with Marvel’s Avengers and Outriders followed, though both games heavily outperformed Babylon’s Fall at launch.
Neither Platinum nor Square Enix are giving up, however, and Platinum promises that “there are no plans to reduce the scale of development.” Babylon’s Fall has content ready for two seasons, and a third one is in development. The update also outlines a massive number of upcoming changes to the game’s features, content, and balance, and a general graphical overhaul coming at some point in the future.
