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Square Enix’s BABYLON’S FALL paired loot-driven builds with four-weapon combat and short, co-op quests—but it was an online action RPG, not a conventional shooter, and its servers shut down in February 2023. Its systems make the “ahead of its time” case an interesting question; the available official record documents what the game offered, not that it influenced later titles or was misunderstood at launch.
What BABYLON’S FALL was
Square Enix produced and published BABYLON’S FALL, with PlatinumGames as developer. PlatinumGames says the game was announced at Square Enix’s E3 showcase in 2018. It launched on PS5 and PS4 on March 3, 2022, and on Steam on March 4, 2022. The developer classifies it as an action RPG, a more accurate description than “loot-shooter.” PlatinumGames’ official game page
Players took the role of Sentinels bound to a Gideon Coffin and fought their way through the Tower of Babylon. The game’s distinctive “Brushwork Filter” was designed to give its presentation the look of medieval oil painting; that description explains the intended aesthetic, not an independent judgment of how well it worked.
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How its combat and loot systems fit together
Four weapons, split between hands and Gideon Arms
Each Sentinel could use up to four weapons at once: two held in the character’s hands and two wielded through the Gideon Arms. PlatinumGames described Standard, Power, and Technical attack modes, with weapon types including swords, bows, rods, hammers, and shields. That combination made ranged attacks one part of a broader melee-and-weapon toolkit, rather than making shooting the game’s defining activity. PlatinumGames
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Loot that could change a build
Quests rewarded weapons and armor, and players could experiment with different loadouts to shape a build. This is the clearest reason to connect the game to the loot-driven action-RPG tradition: equipment was not just a reward to collect, but a way to adjust how a character fought. The official materials establish that customization existed; they do not establish how deep or balanced it was in practice.
Mission-based co-op, with a shared hub
The online structure centered on quests rather than a single large shared battlefield. PlatinumGames described matchmaking for as many as 16 players in the Sentinel Force HQ hub, while quest parties could include up to four players. Square Enix’s 2021 annual report also described parties of up to four. These figures refer to different parts of the structure: the larger hub and the smaller quest group. PlatinumGames · Square Enix Holdings, Annual Report 2021
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Does “years ahead of its time” hold up?
There is a defensible design argument behind the phrase: BABYLON’S FALL combined four simultaneously usable weapons, both melee and ranged options, gear-based build changes, and small-group online quests. Those are concrete features that can invite comparison with later games built around flexible loadouts and repeatable co-op missions.
But the feature list alone cannot prove the game was ahead of its time. Establishing that would require specific, fair comparisons with later titles, along with evidence of influence or a reasoned case that the design was overlooked at launch. The official sources cited here document BABYLON’S FALL’s systems, not borrowing by other games, historical priority, or why it failed to find a lasting audience. No suitable official commercial-performance statistic is established in those sources either, so a sales figure or player count would be speculation.
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Why the planned ongoing support did not last
Before launch, PlatinumGames and Square Enix described regular post-launch updates as part of the plan. That plan changed: on September 13, 2022, Square Enix announced it was cancelling the planned large-scale updates and ending the service. The announcement is direct evidence that the promised support would not continue as initially described; it does not, by itself, explain the business reasons behind the decision. Square Enix’s service-termination notice
Can you play BABYLON’S FALL now?
No. Square Enix said the service would end on February 27, 2023, at 11:00 p.m. Pacific Time and warned that the game would no longer be playable once service ended. PlatinumGames lists the server closure as February 28, 2023; PlayStation’s notice also shows the shutdown in multiple time zones. These dates describe the same shutdown across time zones, not separate events. Square Enix · PlatinumGames · PlayStation Store listing
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Square Enix also said it would stop selling the premium currency and end digital and physical retail sales. It said gameplay data held on its servers would be deleted. A secondhand physical copy is therefore a collector’s item, not a way to bypass the shutdown: the disc does not restore the online service required to play.
What the game leaves behind
BABYLON’S FALL is notable for a specific design mix: four-weapon combat, gear-driven loadouts, and co-op quests organized around small parties. Those ingredients support discussion of how its design compares with later games, but they do not settle the headline’s claim of being “years ahead.” Its short service life and shutdown are clearer facts than any claim about its influence or commercial fate.
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