Hardware: Rivals puts two vehicles on the table and asks players to pick a side. One is an armoured tank built for ploughing through enemies. The other is a Fast Attack Vehicle, built for pursuit at high speed. Both belong to a multiplayer shooter that never quite settles into a single identity.
Trailer, via PlayStation.
The Two Sides
The choice between tank and FAV shapes every match. Players hunt down opponents in the armoured tank, or chase them across the map in a vehicle designed for pace. The game calls this “an all-terrain battle-fest of online multiplayer action,” and it delivers on that promise within limits.
“Hunt down your opponents in an armoured tank or pursue them at speed in a Fast Attack Vehicle.”
Both sides share a common ground: a range of arenas, a range of upgrades to unlock, and a set of modes built around deathmatch, team deathmatch and team domination. The game also offers three single-player training modes, including Time Trial and Target Practice.
What Holds It Together
The core loop is simple: enter the fray, claim bounties, complete Challenges, and take terrible vengeance upon old adversaries. That loop is functional. It is not deep. Progression comes through a range of upgrades that open up as players move forward, giving the game a sense of growth even when the matches themselves feel thin.
Regular community events add a layer of variety, promising new chances to settle scores between sessions. But the game’s identity rests on its two vehicles, and that split creates friction rather than harmony.
Where It Falls Short
The game’s presentation is plain. The arenas are distinct, but they do not push the hardware in any striking way. Weapons include lasers, railguns and rockets, and they collect special pickups during matches. None of it feels especially memorable.
The multiplayer modes are familiar in form, and the single-player training modes exist to teach players the controls before they jump into matches. Nothing about this setup pushes past the basics.
A Decent Shot at a Good Idea
Hardware: Rivals is a game that knows what it wants to be and mostly delivers it. The tank versus FAV split is a neat idea, and the game executes it without much fuss. But the execution stops short of greatness.
The game never fully commits to either mode, and the result is a shooter that feels less like a focused vision and more like a collection of parts. The arena variety helps, but the core loop of bounty-hunting and vengeance never quite lands with the weight it promises.
The Final Word
Hardware: Rivals is a competent, occasionally fun multiplayer shooter with a split personality. Its tank-versus-FAV approach is a decent shot at a good idea, but the game never fully commits to either side. The arenas are distinct, the weapons are varied, and the modes are solid. None of it rises above the level of a solid, forgettable entry in the genre.
The game’s community events give it a reason to keep checking back, and the upgrade system provides a small sense of progress. But the core matches remain thin, and the split identity leaves players wanting something more definitive.
Hardware: Rivals is a game that knows what it wants to be and mostly delivers it, but never quite commits to making it great. It is a decent shot at a good idea that falls short of its full potential.
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