Catalyst Black is a polished competitive shooter from the team behind Vainglory

Will it be the next mobile hero shooter to sweep the nation?

Super Evil Megacorp has been working on a follow-up to Vainglory for some time now. Known as Catalyst Black, Super Evil Megacorp has taken many of the lessons learned from Vainglory to create something new and addictive. Gone are the towers, lanes, and mid-level upgrades popular in MOBAs, replaced with fast-paced real-time multiplayer shooting action, offering something a lot closer to a typical hero shooter, all within Super Evil Megacorp's in-house engine, bringing a fresh game to the table that performs well on any device. So if you're itching to get in early on a game that may very well blow up in popularity, today's the day.

You can watch the launch preview for Catalyst Black above. As you can see, the general design offers something close to Vainglory, as both games were built using the same in-house engine. Unlike Vainglory, Catalyst Black isn't a MOBA; it's more a hero shooter that offers a familiar top-down view. You'll pick your hero and primal (a powerful form you can turn into for maximum devastation), and it's off to the races.

Seeing that Catalyst Black is built around online multiplayer, the fact you can quickly join a friend that's in a match ensures the game is very accessible. If you see a friend in a match, you can join them to help out as long as the match isn't long in the tooth. No matter where you are or what you're doing, you can easily join active matches or start your own. The hop in and hop out gameplay is pretty remarkable; Super Evil Megacorp has done an excellent job when it comes to the game's multiplayer design.

Matches offer what you'd expect from a shooter. You'll run and gun completing objectives, and these objectives reward points, where the team that hits a point threshold first, wins. Of course, between matches, you can upgrade your arsenal while upgrading your hero and their primal, and there's tons of opportunity to perfect your builds. Balance was clearly a huge focus for Super Evil Megacorp, which sure leans into the game's accessible multiplayer, where newbies and the hardcore can intermingle.

This brings me to Catalyst Black's monetization. It's free-to-play, and the game's in-app purchases range up to $99.99 per item. There are loot boxes, and you can buy the primary currency outright. Super Evil Megacorp has even admitted that there is a way to pay to level up faster, so the opportunity to waste as much money as you want is built into the game. All items that offer an advantage can be gained for free, though paying will clearly be the quicker route, by design, which puts a damper on the competitive play no matter how well balanced the gameplay is.

All in all, if you're looking to get into a new competitive game but require the polish of a AAA console title on mobile, Catalyst Black is looking like a fine choice. Running and gunning across the game's maps is a joy, especially once you unlock the 12v12 mode. So despite the game's free-to-play monetization that leans towards paying to win, Catalyst Black has shaped up to be a fun hero shooter for casual play.​​​​​​​