The new MOBA from Heavy Rain's Quantic Dream has no right being this good, but there is one titan-sized problem

My biggest gripe with Spellcasters Chronicles is its name. Why are both words plural? It makes for an unwieldy mouthfeel when you're trying to explain what game you spent 90 minutes previewing last week, which is a shame, because there's a lot of fun to be had in zapping opponents with spells and summoning godlike titans to do your bidding.

Spellcasters Chronicles is a game vying for a spot on our list of the best MOBAs, but it doesn't share many gameplay similarities with the likes of Dota 2 or League of Legends. Of course, the basics are there. You summon legions of minions to do your bidding, attacking towers and taking territory from your opponent. But you can also ascend into aerial battles with other spellcasters, spraying frost rays at their shields and forcing them to duck for cover. Considering this live-service game is coming from Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human developer Quantic Dream, I should hardly be surprised that it doesn't play things strictly by the book.

Part hero shooter and part MOBA, the wizards and witches themselves are the core of what makes Spellcasters so exciting. As well as a generic attack and a variety of summons, each character has a host of abilities at their disposal. From creating 20-metre high walls to bringing down a storm of fire on your opponents, each offers something different to your team.

I'd wager that this is the most important part of Spellcasters Chronicles: teambuilding. In one of my matches, we ended up with two of the three players using the same wall-building druid. We lost heavily, which I don't think was a coincidence. It makes the most sense to pick one character from each of the three classes, but sensible tactics could all fall down when players lean towards their favorites.

The characters play very differently. The fire-wielding offensive mage felt completely different from the defensive druid in the two matches I played. They each have distinct summons and abilities, but they also move across the map in their own ways and have their own individual design and animation languages. I'd like to see whether the two offensive characters feel sufficiently unique, but the opening roster looks solid and offers a little bit of everything. Each commander also has two modes: different lists of abilities that you choose before the battle and unlock as you level up over the course of the match. I didn't have enough time to play around with these in my brief preview, but it should offer some playstyle variety, even if you decide to main one particular character.

The biggest shift away from genre convention is the perspective. Spellcasters is played from a third-person perspective, like a Sony first-party title except with color and whimsy rather than a palette of bleak grays. This makes every battle feel more action-packed than other MOBAs, even if most of the fighting is enacted by the creatures you summon. But it's those moments when you end up 1v1 against another sorcerer where it morphs into a different game, from a tactical battle into a third-person shooter. These lightning-fast flashes of excitement occur multiple times a match, usually when one team is trying to press their advantage, and they keep you invested in the tie far more than a minimap slowly turning red as you gain new territory.

Then there's the titans. These enormous creatures are shards of the gods themselves, avatars embodying the spirits of your particular spellcaster. They're mighty impressive to see lumbering across the battlefield, but there are a couple of problems with their implementation. First off, the quantity. These deities feel like they should be a once-per-match thing, a game of cat and mouse between you and your opponent to see who's going to reveal their demigod first, and where. I managed to summon two in each of the matches I played, as did both of my teammates. That's a total of six creatures per side, albeit not at the same time, and they lose some of their potency when they're so common.

They're also a little boring to fight. Compared to the push and pull of a MOBA, the summoning of a gargantuan creature immediately gathers all the action in one place. But what should be a crescendo of excitement is more of a whimper, because the titanic beasts never really feel threatening to your character as they focus their attacks on your precious towers. They end up as giant sponges, soaking up your frost breath and fireballs as you fly around their heads. What is undoubtedly a testament of design and an explosion of epic scale feels more like a slog than a suitably mythic boss battle. When you're facing two or more of these giants at once? Prepare to sit there for minutes on end as they soak up damage.

On the subject of design, I will say that Spellcasters looks gorgeous. From the arena to the character designs, everything feels fresh and original, which is something I rarely say about games these days, especially in the fantasy space. And, monstrous deities aside, the gameplay feels pretty fresh, too. Whether it will after dozens of hours across multiple seasons is another matter, but it's building on a strong foundation.

The Spellcasters Chronicles closed beta is available on Steam from Thursday, December 4, until Monday, December 8. You can sign up here.

I didn't get to see any of the narrative during my preview, none of the supposed overarching story that will play out week by week. I'm not sure where it will fit in, to be quite honest. I also didn't get any sense of progression, what you'll unlock, or how the live-service monetization will work. But I did play two matches, and they were fun. The sorcerous duels were the highlight, the best expression of player skill, but combining those ability-based shootouts with the tactical grandeur of a MOBA presents a fresh take on both genres, and one that I'm curious to find out more about.