Indie game Omega Strikers has recently released to an extremely large player base. The free-to-play, 3v3 competitive game is taking Steam by storm. With its MOBA-like emphasis on unique characters and ability-based combat, which effortlessly meshes with fast-paced gameplay reminiscent of air hockey or foosball, Omega Strikers is truly a unique experience.

Omega Strikers is one of many new indie games built around combining sports with established video game genres, of which Rollerdrome is a notable example. However, it separates itself from the others with interesting character designs, a huge emphasis on competitive teamwork, and the priceless ability to convince friends to try the game because it's free.

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Omega Strikers Has Unique Character Abilities & MOBA-Like Movement

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The characters and control options of Omega Strikers are where it bears similarities to MOBA games. Each character has three unique abilities and a regular attack to hit the ball when everything else is on cooldown. The abilities vary greatly by character. There are long-range projectiles, close-quarter smashes, dash attacks, self-buffs, and other niche abilities like healing or obstacle creation. The interesting part of Omega Strikers is that abilities not only serve to hit the ball, as scoring goals is the only win condition of the game, but they can also hit enemies to stagger them or knock them off the stage, netting your team a numbers advantage while the opponent is respawning.

The movement in Omega Strikers is also reminiscent of the MOBA genre, as there is a click-to-move option for players who are used to fast-paced game modes in titles like League of Legends. There is also a WASD option for players inexperienced in the genre. As an indie game that just recently released, having several control types for players to choose from is an unexpected positive when even an industry giant like Nintendo failed to do so in their most recent sports game.

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Omega Strikers Character Select

The rules of Omega Strikers, at their core, are as simple as air hockey. Players must prevent the ball or puck from entering their goal zone while attempting to score on the other team. Players can win in a couple of ways: either by scoring five goals before the opposing team or having more goals when the game's short match timer runs out. Here's the catch: Teams can only win if they have a solid two-goal lead, which often leads to tense overtime situations where the back and forth escalates as each team refuses to give up. The win-by-two condition adds a huge amount of intensity and suspense to matches -- other sports games would be wise to take notes.

Though the base mechanics resemble air hockey, once the game adds abilities and three players per team, Omega Strikers gets far more hectic than the peaks of any air hockey game. Since the game is free-to-play and teamwork and coordination are required to succeed at high levels of play, Omega Strikers is the perfect game to try out with a group of friends.