The wordsmithing game Babble Royale was released into Early Access on December 15, 2021. You can play for free on Steam until the final version of the game launches at some point in the next six months.
The developer behind Babble Royale, Everybody House Games, describes the action as “high-speed, word-based combat.” Babble Royale basically turns Scrabble into a battle royale. The round starts with 16 players who must “have the last word or die trying.” You eliminate players “through raw word making ability or by outwitting your opponents with clever tactics.” The catch is of course that a “deadly hot zone is creeping in from the edges of the map, forcing players together for the final showdown.”
You choose a starting point at the beginning of each round by dropping onto the board. This would be the point at which your word rack starts filling up with letters. You have to make words by building on what you already have on the board while avoiding the encroaching hot zone which inflicts damage. When you connect a word to that of another player, you cause them to be eliminated from the round.
“You are the last word you made. Eliminate an opponent by quickly connecting your word to theirs — before they do.”
You earn points during each round that can be spent on letters or a variety of different power ups. You can also find some of these power ups in random places across the board.
“Babble Royale is an intense multiplayer free-for-all that combines word making skill with fast paced tactical and strategic action. Earn money and collect loot to upgrade your abilities, outrun the deadly hot zone, and outwit or outlast all your opponents to have the last word!”
Babble Royale was made for “competitive gamers who like smart games and casual gamers who like intense competition. The combination of classic word making gameplay with fast paced tactical action means the game is easy to learn, but has an insanely high skill ceiling.”
Everybody House Games released Babble Royale into Early Access in order to “work with a dedicated player community to learn how to best evolve and refine the core gameplay and expand the game's content and features.” When the final version of the game is released, Babble Royale will still be free to play, but the developer plans to “offer seasonal ‘battle passes’ that provide additional levels of access, customization, and unlockable items.” There will be “more polish, additional maps and mechanics, party queuing and team play” as well as “an expanded set of customization options” at launch.
You can expect more from Babble Royale in the near future. The developer will be “expanding the game with new content and features and working with our player community to make the game as great as it can be” over the next few months.