Holfraine: From Scrappy Kickstarter to Sony Endorsed Hero Shooter

Holfraine's journey from indie dream, to Kickstarter project and finally to Sony endorsed PlayStation exclusive has been a wild one; developer Fluxart Studios must be in a state of disbelief as it watches its three-on-three multiplayer hero shooter near the release date of 3rd March.

Despite starting life as a PC, Mac and Linux exclusive, Holfraine caught the attention Sony by winning "Best Competitive Game" at the PlayStation Talents Awards in 2017. After some time, in 2019, the studio was welcomed into PlayStation's Games Camp initiative. Here, the Spain-based developer was given a space to create Holraine with on-demand advice from PlayStation Spain's experts, free PlayStation 4 development kits, marketing support and a grant of 100,000 euros. Naturally, it was officially a PlayStation exclusive from that point onwards, having become a part of the 'PlayStation Family'.

What is Holfraine, you ask? Well, as mentioned, it's a three-on-three online hero shooter where six unique characters battle in matches where the objective is never set in stone. Sometimes, victory may be as simple as killing the opposing team; other times, there may be a rogue drone darting around the map, needing to be captured in order to secure a win. Keeping players on their toes with a variety of dynamic elements is exactly what Fluxart Studios is aiming for with Holfraine.

There are only six character types in the game; however, with 30 skins which change player stats as well as their appearance, there still looks to be a fair amount of depth in how players go about choosing their characters. With that said, it does raise some concerns over the game's implementation of microtransactions. The PlayStation Store page for Holfraine makes mention of 'BETCoins', so there will undoubtedly be some in-game purchases on offer. If these gameplay-affecting skins (presumably being available through said microtransations) give some players an edge over others, it could lead to some sourness in the community and backlash against the game as a whole.

Holfraine releases on 3rd March exclusively for PlayStation 4 via the PlayStation Store.