Quick Review: Streamline

A eulogy for another game I took too long to get to.

Once again, these pictures are from the
official Steam store page, which can no longer
be found through research on the platform.

Streamline, as it used to be known, was a creation of Proletariat, Inc., and was “released” on September 30th, 2016. Don’t expect me to actually discuss my experience of playing it, I didn’t get that far. And unlike the previous two cases of this I’ve encountered – Offensive Combat and Wasted Pizza – this one I was looking forward to. All three share a common trait, though; they were multiplayer experiences exclusively, ditched once there was no longer a player base. That’s why I’ll always advocate for single player campaigns, especially for multiplayer games from smaller studios trying to make it big.

Swords and fun costumes, bright world. Okay,
I'll bite: Is there a dark secret under the surface
of the setting? ...We'll never know.

That said, just like in the other two cases, there may have never been an intention here outside of multiplayer. The game even advertised itself on being made for streamers who could play it live with the audience. It sure looks lively and pretty enough. The screenshots on the Steam Store page, which no longer appears in searches since you can no longer purchase the title (which also, for the record, was left in Early Access for the entirety of its shelf life before its devs pulled the plug), boast the possibility to customize the playable characters as we see fit, with a buttload of colorful and fun accessories and clothes. Weapons, too.

Looks like the customization was
great, too. Sigh.

On the plus side, I got that one through a Humble Bundle, so it’s not like I paid much for it. Even then, I paid for what’s more like a pass into the beta, when it was around. It was a part of the Freedom Bundle sold from February 13th to 20th, 2017, so… my best guess is that the game was seeking a larger base, but never quite got sustainable. Sad when it happens. I can’t even say for sure “there was potential here”, it would imply I’ve actually tested it.

From my understanding, the game was about a new sport from the future aided by the developed technology of the times, pitting two types of players against each other: Runners and Hunters. It’s a parkour-heavy competition for up to 16 players that’s all about racking up points, Runners evading the Hunters, or Hunters catching the Runners.

A good day for a swell battle - now, go!

    Not enough assault with a blunt weapon.

I can’t confirm, but it seems like battles would function either like those asymmetric multiplayer games à la Dead by Daylight (lots of Runners, very few Hunters) or with equal players on both sides. Part of the goal for Runners would be to earn points by grabbing score balls, doing stunts, playing mini-game and evading Hunters, while the Hunters likely made most of their points catching the Runners. Apparently, the Hunters would have plenty of impromptu weapons to use; the store page even mentions stop signs. Damn, imagine getting a stop sign to the face. Yeowch. The stream’s audience would be able to make things easier for either side by changing the rules in real time or giving out perks. Part of the interaction could happen through the (also defunct) streamote.tv website.

Nowadays, booting up the game leads to a server error screen. Can’t even get to the main menu.

I can no longer become the next best
supervillain: The Stopman!

Proletariat, Inc. released more games than this; their most famous was Spellbreak, released on September 3rd, 2020. Also a PvP title and available for a few platforms, it shut down on January 10th, 2023. Barely two years. That’s a damn short life for a game if you ask me. Anyhow, it’s my impression that a concept like Streamline may have been a little too ambitious. The game looked great and probably played decent (Heck if I know; again, couldn't test it, and there’s no way I’m pulling my time machine out of the mothballs for this), but it didn’t have a big name backing it and the visibility just wasn’t there. The silver lining is that Spellbreak is what got the studio noticed. They were purchased by Activision Blizzard and went on to make the ninth expansion pack for World of Warcraft, titled Dragonflight and released in late 2022. So… sad life for Streamline, but its makers eventually fared well enough.

An actual review’s coming up next, promise.