We Asked The Last Babylon's Fall Player - Why?
There was one person playing Babylon's Fall earlier this week, and we spoke to him.
Mel Ramsay
09th May 2022 15:05
PlatinumGames and Square Enix
Just in case you're one of the 7.753 billion people who aren't currently playing Babylon's Fall - you might be wondering what exactly it is, and why we've spoken to the last player standing.
The game (that came out around two months ago) wasn't received with fanfare and party poppers. In fact, at launch it peaked at 1,166 concurrent players. Not quite the big hitter that developer PlatinumGames and publisher Square Enix were probably expecting.
Babylon's Fall will set you back almost £60 on Steam, and describes itself as a 'cooperative action RPG'. Although I guess more than one person needs to be playing it for this to be truly cooperative.
It reads: "Experience acclaimed developer PlatinumGames' signature combat in BABYLON’S FALL with up to 3 other players or take on the Tower of Babel alone, in this new cooperative action RPG.
"After the Babylonians perished, only their great tower 'The Ziggurat' remained. Now a new empire has come to pillage its ruins and uncover its fabled treasures. Join forces with other Sentinels, unwilling subjects forcibly implanted with Gideon Coffin, relics that grant the few survivors unrivalled powers."
It continues that you can choose your playstyle from multiple, varied weapon-types, that all have 'distinct skills and abilities'. You can also customise your loadout to wield up to four weapons at a time.
They add that there's a 'rich fantasy setting that draws inspiration from medieval oil paintings'.
On Steam, the game averages out at around 50-60 players per day. Well, that was until earlier this week when it dropped to just one. And we found them to ask one simple question - why?
Dashiell Wood, a 19-year-old social media manager, came across the news while perusing Twitter. At that moment, he realised that the time referenced by the article was the time that he was playing. His realisation has earned him Twitter virality, as well as a few jokes thrown his way.
As VGC reported, Steam Charts data showed that at midnight BST on Wednesday, May 4, there was just one player on the game. And Dash says that was him.
According to the user scores on Metacritic, Babylon's Fall was the worst game to be released this year, bar POSTAL 4: No Regerts (yes that is the correct spelling) and CrossfireX. Yeah, I don't know either. So what is it about this game that makes Dash want to keep coming back? We found out.
How long have you been playing Babylon's Fall?
Since around launch day, I picked it up a day or two after it dropped on Steam. I was a fan of Platinum's work and eager to try out their take on an online game.
What did you think when you saw the news story that there was one player still going?
I only saw the story after being tagged multiple times on Twitter. People knew I was playing around that time, but I think we were all a little taken a back to discover I was the only one. I expected it to be in the low 10s, sure, but the idea of being the sole person playing an AAA game just a few weeks after release was pretty unthinkable.
Do you know literally anyone else who plays the game?
No.
Why do you like it so much, and why are you still playing? Did you lose a bet?
Maybe it's self-hatred, maybe it's morbid curiosity. Truthfully, I couldn't tell you.
Would you consider yourself the number one fan of the game, or just the last one still alive?
I definitely think it's not as bad as people say. Either way, I suppose I must be the game's biggest fan by process of elimination.
What does it mean to you knowing that you're the last one standing?
I feel vindicated. I was Babylon's Final Faller. But at what cost? It's sad in a way, the game seems doomed now. I won't be stopping any time soon though, the ability to keep the game alive rests on my shoulders.
If you could say one thing to the devs, what would it be?
I'm looking forward to the two additional seasons of content that have been promised.
Thanks, Dash.
So there you have it. An unapologetic response from Dash, who pledges to keep going, whatever the cost. Whether you like the game or not, you have to respect his tenacity.
Anyone for a game?
About The Author
Mel Ramsay
Mel is GGRecon's former Editor-in-Chief. She was previously a senior journalist at LADbible.
