‘My Hero Ultra Rumble’ is a new free-to-play battle royal set in the world of the anime ‘My Hero Academia’ and is out now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It can also be played via backwards compatibility on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X.

The game places 24 players into the world to battle it out but don’t worry if you are not a solo player the 24 players are broken up into eight teams of three. You will have support along the way and the feature to revive or be revived during the game like any other battle royal as the game progresses. The play zone will shrink pushing players toward a central point on the map to ramp up the encounters you may come across.

The gameplay is broken down into a class system to which different characters are assigned to. Players are unable to use the same character as another teammate so instead of just putting the main focus on one style I would learn a secondary just in case your preferred character is already taken when you squad up.

I don’t know much about the anime or the characters but I recognised some that I knew were from the show and had a basic idea of their super powers like the such of ‘All Might’ being super strong and ‘Todoroki’ who has the power of both ice and fire.

I tend to lean toward anything with fire so Todoroki was my most played character but fortunately, it does have quite a decent-sized roster from the show for fans to pick from.

What sets this aside from other battle royals is there are no weapons to pick up or loot to scavenge for; all the characters have their powers called in the anime “Quirks” so you start off on the same playing field as everyone else each with three quirks.

The loot boxes scattered around will hold health and shield potions or cards to level up a quirk to make it stronger. There are three types of loot boxes to keep an eye out for: the basic white ones which are quick to open, golden boxes that take a few seconds to open but grant a better reward and lastly the giant boxes that will hold the top tier drops.

Players will also be able to expand their inventory size by finding either a satchel or backpack. As you play, this will allow you to hold onto more items there are some ability cards you are able to pick up.

These come in great use for buffing you or the team from raising attack power for a short period of time to having a large healing bubble for all teammates in the area to heal. While there is only one map, it can get a bit predictable where other teams will spawn. I hope there will be some more addition of maps later to mix things up and change spawns.

In terms of how free is the free-to-play game, there are a few paywalls but they can be avoided. Sadly, you will not have all the roster unlocked but will have free play tokens to use on locked characters.

There are unlock tickets that can be bought and earned as you play and the easiest way if you don’t want to spend any cash is by earning the roll tickets and hoping you get doubles as it will convert into a currency to buy unlock tickets. It does sound a bit confusing but it is definitely the easier method.

Graphically, the characters look like they are pulled straight out of the anime with vibrant colour pallettes and effects to match their quirks. Each are visually striking. The character also comes along with dialogue lines however I am not sure if it is the English voice actors pulled into the game but the characters will talk while in a fight or combat. The main menu will also remind players of current events, or drop one-liners from the squad during fighting segments.

In conclusion, My Hero Ultra Rumble is a solid battle royal that already has a fanbase with the anime. The quirks and the characters are a great touch as they always offer a different playstyle and experience in battle. A solid battle royale indeed.

Written by: Shane Walsh