New MOBA MMORPG hybrid Corepunk arrives on PC in early access

This one-of-a-kind MOBA ARPG mashup channels the best of League of Legends with Diablo 4, and you can now play it in early access on PC.

What’s one genre hybrid you’d have thought impossible to crack? For me, it would be combining the sprawling and immersive nature of an MMORPG with the competitive, tactical thrills of a MOBA. Surely these two genres are at odds with each other? Well, that’s exactly what Corepunk strives to conquer, cleverly mixing elements of League of Legends and Diablo 4 to create something completely it’s own.

Now available on PC in Early Access via a dedicated launcher, Corepunk takes a stab at both the best MOBAs and the best MMORPGs in one fell swoop with its one-of-a-kind mashup. It’s a top-down isometric multiplayer game that, at first glance, looks much like the existing MOBA like League of Legends and Dota 2 – it even has a similar interface and fog-of-war to obscure the map. However, take a closer look and you’ll discover that Corepunk is actually much more of an ARPG MMO.

Firstly, Corepunk takes place in a seamless open world with various points of interest to find, secrets to uncover, and even quests to complete as you roam through the already diverse biomes during Early Access. With this in mind, the iconic MOBA fog of war is perfect for adding a layer of mystery and surprise while you explore.

Corepunk also includes a leveling system reminiscent of both MOBAs and MMORPGs. You begin by leveling your character to level 20 to unlock new abilities, passives, and weapon specializations before then branching out and refining your build. This is backed up by a deep crafting system for weapons and upgrades that rewards your open-world plundering.

Combat is where you’ll see the largest MOBA influences, with responsive action that rewards perfect timing and clever ability usage – whether you’re competing in a PvE or PvP activity. While PvP in the overworld is often optional, there are contested areas and specific PvP modes (including an extraction mode coming in the future) where you can focus your bloodlust. If you’d rather keep things civil, then you can climb the leaderboard while min-maxing your build by conquering dungeons both alone and with a party.

Unfortunately, Corepunk isn’t available on Steam, so if you’re intrigued by its unique genre mashup, you’ll have to download a separate launcher. Importantly, Corepunk has adopted a buy-to-play model with an in-game cash shop solely for cosmetics. Corepunk costs $36 / £29 for the most basic early access edition, with the highest tier costing $68 / £54.

Nevertheless, Corepunk has the potential to become one of the best multiplayer games out there as there’s little in the way of direct competition. Plus, more updates and additional content will be added throughout the Early Access period, so it’s only up from here. If you’d rather wait for the full release then why not dig into some of the best PC games in the meantime?

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