Paragon was an incredible MOBA from Epic Games. It launched for PC and PlayStation 4, and had a core fan base who adored it. Unfortunately the game didn’t generate enough revenue to justify its server costs, or any sort of ongoing development, and so in the end it was taken down. Now however, a developer called Omeda Studios has been inspired by Paragon to create their own similar MOBA, Predecessor.
While Predecessor might look a lot like Paragon, it’s definitely not. The game is inspired by Epic Games’ MOBA, the studio admit to that. They’ve even said that they one day hope to release Paragon’s characters as DLC later down the line, but for now they’ve taken the parts of Paragon that they enjoyed, and played with them until they ended up with Predecessor.
Predecessor, much like Paragon, is a weird sort of MOBA because of its third-person action view. While Smite has since normalised this, it was pretty different for its time. The game has three classes of characters, split into three different powers, Void, Spirit, and Matter. The game will have a very similar feel to Paragon, but it definitely isn’t that game.
Currently it’s possible to sign up for the game’s alpha, during which I think we’ll get a feel for exactly what it’s going to be like. Right now though, I think that what Omeda Studios wants to do is take Paragon, put everything about each match into their game, and then ramp up the fun elements of the gameplay.
For example, levelling up your character took forever in Paragon. This is part and parcel of each MOBA however, and even in League of Legends, Dota 2, and Smite, matches can take about an hour if everyone playing is fairly good. I think that a game like Predecessor will be trying to single itself out though, and that’s possible by making matches quicker. A MOBA that offers short matches for those who want to dip in and out and try out lots of characters would be pretty unprecedented right now.
I’m sure that most hardcore MOBA fans want exactly what Paragon was. Every match had pacing, and every character felt great to play. I can’t wait to see what Omeda Studios have done with the brilliant design of Paragon in 2020.