Friends vs. Friends is Gamescom’s ridiculously fun show-stealer

digitaltrends.com:

If you watched this year’s Gamescom Opening Night Live stream, I wouldn’t blame you if you can’t remember most of the games shown at it. The rapid-paced barrage of trailers meant that smaller indies were overshadowed by heavy hitters like Sonic Frontiers. By the time the show had ended, I had almost forgotten about Friends vs. Friends, a multiplayer shooter that got a quirky animated trailer.

I remembered it as I walked by publisher Raw Fury’s Gamescom booth. With no one in line to play, I decided to stop by on a whim and see how the game actually worked. I’m glad I did, because it was the most fun I had at the convention. The oddball shooter may not have massive long-term potential, but I know I’ll be begging my friends to play with me when it launches.

I knew Friends vs. Friends was a competitive first-person shooter that pitted players against one another (whether 1v1 or 2v2) based on the trailer, but what I didn’t realize is that it’s a quietly genius deck builder too. The way the game works is that players face off in a series of quick elimination rounds. Kill your friend, and you’ll win the round (in my demo, I faced off against another player in a best three out of five set-up). Simple. The twist is that players enter the battle with a deck of cards, a few of which are dealt to each player at the start of every round.

Cards have multiple utilities. A weapon card will give the player that weapon to use for the round, allowing them to trade in their starting gun for something like a katana or shotgun. Some cards contain buffs that’ll give players a unique advantage for the round. That goes the other way, as a player can use a card to hinder an opponent. For example, one card might reduce the damage your enemy deals.