How exactly do you know when you've created a successful online PvP game? After all, it's a competitive market, and it can be hard to keep people wanting to play, especially after the mass closure of so many live service games earlier this year, including a few other nicely-done PvP games like Knockout City that have now been sadly taken from us all too soon. And then you have a small indie game like Brainwash Gang's Friends vs Friends, which arguably has to work harder to build a successful player base. And then there's the fact that reviewing such multiplayer games that receive regular updates can be difficult at times. How do you know what makes such a game worth a recommendation?

Well, here's what to know: right before I started to write this review, I thought "You know what, I feel like playing a few more rounds of this" and then proceeded to get in another seven or so games of Friends vs Friends as opposed to writing anything at the moment. And it dawned on me that when you have released something that can literally be described as a productivity killer, that is how you know that you've released a successful online PvP game.

Unsurprisingly, Friends vs Friends doesn't exactly have a deep premise, basically telling you everything you need to know in its opening animation: there's a bunch of friends, they buy some cursed trading cards from a shady website, the cards can become weapons, shenanigans and deathmatches ensue. While there's isn't much to the plot, the various playable characters are a nice and colorful lot, a batch of expertly-designed anthropomorphic animals with a not of charm that deliver voice lines showing nerdy DJs, cocky rock stars and more. They're a lovable bunch of misfits, and each one has their own unique buffs and skills to boot, which are fun to work with.

As for gameplay, the basic gist is that it's a classic '90s FPS deathmatch, either one-on-one or two-on-two, with players running around a map and trying to blow each other away, first one to three of out of five rounds wins. The twist is that Friends vs Friends adds deckbuilding elements to things as well, courtesy of the aforementioned cursed cards. You stack your deck with a minimum of twenty-five cards, each with a different cost, and your deck can't exceed a cost of fifty. You're dealt a hand of cards at the beginning of match, any cards you don't use get carried over to the nest round and a couple more are dealt to you then as well. Simple as that.

The cards you can get deal effects such as giving you different guns, boosting speed and damage, or wilder stuff like filling your opponent's hand with useless garbage cards or literally nuking the whole map, setting the remainder of the round in a wasteland. The strategy is in figuring out what cards to potentially save for later, or what cards make for good combos, like a sniper rifle plus a card that gives your opponents larger heads. Plus you have to take the maps into consideration, because throwing a bomb at an opponent might be easier in a more enclosed space, but not so much when fighting on moving trucks. Things do get chaotic quickly when numerous cards are played, and that's what honestly makes for the best matches.

The genius in Friends vs Friends' gameplay is that it basically feels like the Marvel Snap of multiplayer shooters, and no, not just because it involves cards. Instead, it's more because matches are designed to be as fast and quick as possible, with gameplay that's designed to encourage lot of movement, small-to-modest sized maps with just the right amount of cover and obstacles, and numerous ways of dealing damage in intense gunfights. Rounds only last for a few minutes at most, meaning there's a lot of time to cram in match after match. It's easy to get sucked in for more than a couple of hours as you get in a ton of games.

Of course, one reason to also cram in a ton of games is to gain the experience needed to unlock rewards like additional characters at higher levels, and cash needed for booster packs. This was where the game initially took a hit, with matchmaking being uneven and experience gained feeling way too small, especially if you don't win, making it tougher to build a better deck or try new characters...but the emphasis now is on "was," as the most recent 1.0.1 patch has now added the option for level-based matchmaking and now pays out more experience, making it easier to level up at get more cards (honestly, I'm still getting outclassed by a lot of FPS players, but at least now the fun isn't being diminished and even my failures still lead to more goods eventually).

This is a reminder that Friends vs Friends is still an evolving game, though, and that there's always some growing to do or things to fix. One big issue is that there are still only four maps right now, though more locations, characters and cards are expected in the future. There are also bugs that need to be ironed out, such as lingering counters from fire damage that refuse to disappear on occasion. Plus, while the ability to play against bots is welcome in any multiplayer game, only half of the maps are available right now. That said, patches can't exactly fix any back luck that might befoul you when it comes opening new booster packs, especially if you're lacking new cards, but at least any duplicates you come across go towards leveling up stats for those cards.

Still, in the end, Friends vs Friends succeeds thanks to its quick core FPS gameplay expertly evoking the classic deathmatch shooters of the late '90s while still being able to put a modern twist on things thank to the deckbuilding elements. It really does feel like the type of game you'd play with a group of friends from school, late at night, surrounded by heavy amounts of pizza and soda as you try to hunt each other down. The '90s-inspired aesthetics help as well, with its beautifully colorful, pixelated, low-poly style perfectly setting the mood as you check out each detail in the middle of a subway station firefight or traverse the hub world at Buddy's Boulevard, where you can test weapons, purchase cosmetics with in-game currency, or take on daily quests while a catchy soundtrack plays. It perfectly plays tribute to the greats of genre, and with a few more additions over time, can hopefully join their pantheon as well.

Closing Comments:

Quick to learn, quick to play and delivering large doses of fun regardless of whether you're trying to master it or just seeing how many insane card effects you have in a single match, Friends vs Friends is a gem of a PvP shooter that can easily keep you sucked in for lengthy sessions. So grab as many friends as you can (assuming you can get them to pick up the game or gift copies to them) or just jump in casual play to take on "friends" you haven't met yet, because either way, you're in for a blast here.