'The Middle East's answer to Marvel Rivals' is an 'AI-powered', crypto-infused hero shooter that looks like hot garbage

Skip to main content
PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES
Search PC Gamer
View Profile
Movies & TV
Gaming Industry
PC Gaming Show
Newsletter Signup
Community Guidelines
Affiliate Links
Meet the team
About PC Gamer
PC Gamer Magazine Subscription
Why subscribe?
Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag
Try a single issue or save on a subscription
Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From£35.99View
Monster Hunter Wilds
Nvidia RTX 5090
Marvel Rivals
Third Person Shooter
'The Middle East's answer to Marvel Rivals' is an 'AI-powered', crypto-infused hero shooter that looks like hot garbage
Morgan Park
20 March 2025
Farcana is developed by Abu Dhabi-based studio Dizzaract, the largest game studio in the region.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Dizzaract)
If Farcana is "the Middle East's answer to the acclaimed Marvel Rivals," as its developer claims, I don't see Disney quivering in its boots anytime soon. Developed by 160-person Abu Dhabi-based studio Dizzaract—which apparently makes it the largest game studio in the region—Farcana is a 5v5 hero shooter packing the noxious double whammy of AI and crypto.
"Opposite to traditional hero shooters, Farcana's AI-backed features enhance player experience through adaptive in-game mechanics and an evolving combat environment," a press release announcing its latest playtest reads.
Sounds vague and amorphous, but don't worry, Dizzaract expands on its AI features later on and reveals they're just as silly as you imagined. The full version of Farcana will feature an "AI companion that consists of an in-game AI assistant that provides real-time strategic insights" on your matches, plus an "AI avatar that can represent players in matches against other AI avatars."
You may like
4 short months after saying 'We'll have to adapt and change', Netflix's AI games VP adapts and changes into a person who isn't working there anymore
Razer is collaborating on a gaming CAPTCHA to combat AI-powered bots, and of course the first game to use it is the worst Web3 nonsense I've ever seen
OK, let's step into the shoes of that scenario. I'm a shooter fan who already has to deal with actual human teammates belting their unsolicited feedback into my headset, and then a muddy AI voice chimes in with their two cents. I wonder what strategic insights an AI would have to offer the 18th time I get shot in the head. "Have you tried getting good? Perhaps missing fewer shots?"
Honestly, I can see the use case of my own personal Jarvis giving battle tips, if I could realistically trust the advice of a language model—technology famous for getting basic math wrong, hallucinating entire historical events, and making search engines less useful with each passing day. But yeah, sure, tell me which hero I should pick to counter Budziboi.
Oh, you don't know Budziboi? He's one of 24 "Stars," Farcana's name for heroes. It was around this point in my Farcana research that I watched some gameplay and, well, it looks terrible. You've seen slop before: Low-res textures, ugly animations, uninspiring character designs.
FARCANA // OFFICIAL PLAYTEST TRAILER - YouTube
Farcana reeks of the kind of crypto nonsense that made 2021 an annoying year to follow videogames, and that's because it is also that. You won't find mention of $FAR, Farcana's official cryptocurrency, anywhere in the press release or on its website, but it's been selling the coin for a while now (the value isn't doing so hot, but the game's also not out yet), prepping for full ownership of its in-game items.
The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
That's according to the vision of Dizzaract founder and CEO Ilman Shazhaev, "crypto entrepreneur" and true believer in videogames as a nexus point for the future of decentralized, speculative entertainment.
"In-game economies, powered by AI, will be as dynamic and complex as real-world markets. These games will transcend entertainment, becoming cultural movements where players act as evangelists, with AI-powered avatars serving as extensions of their digital identities," Shazhaev recently said in a bizarrely straightfaced GamesBeat profile.
M-Mercy? Is that you? (Image credit: Dizzaract)
"2025 marks the beginning of what we call the ‘AI Supercycle’ in gaming. We’re moving beyond scripted events to create living worlds where AI agents adapt to players’ decisions and even emotions in real time."
I'm not sure how a bog-standard hero shooter with a chat bot "moves beyond scripted events" any more than, say, Overwatch, but it's not worth trying to apply logic to tech bro babble in 2025. At least the Web3 part of Dizzaract's operation explains why the Farcana playtest kicking off today is only available on the Epic Games Store. Steam still isn't having any of that crap, but Tim Sweeney's store is an all-inclusive toilet.
Morgan Park
Social Links Navigation
Staff Writer
Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
4 short months after saying 'We'll have to adapt and change', Netflix's AI games VP adapts and changes into a person who isn't working there anymore
Razer is collaborating on a gaming CAPTCHA to combat AI-powered bots, and of course the first game to use it is the worst Web3 nonsense I've ever seen
Finding a new and inventive way to annoy everybody, Activision has company use AI to generate fake advertisements for games that don't exist
The latest big game on Steam is Fragpunk, or as I like to call it, 'kitchen-sink Counter-Strike'
Evidence mounts that Marvel Rivals stealthily places losing players in bot matches, and I know because I'm the loser
Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: 'sweaty' teamplay vs. casual fun
Latest in Third Person Shooter
'The Middle East's answer to Marvel Rivals' is an 'AI-powered', crypto-infused hero shooter that looks like hot garbage
'Searches for Invisible Woman went up 3,000%': Marvel Rivals devs innocently reflect on how popular some of their heroes have become
Helldivers 2 CCO Johan Pilestedt says the industry's got it backwards by putting features over fundamentals: 'We talk way too little about the core philosophy'
'A developer who actually listens': Marvel Rivals' devs fix accidental Peni Parker nerf just 9 short hours after saying they would
The warframe with a guitar that shoots fire is out today alongside a bunch of metalcore-inspired skins, cementing Warframe's spiral into Y2K madness
Johan Pilestedt warns that Helldivers 2 took 4 more years than planned because Arrowhead skipped pre-production and dove right in: 'Always do your homework before you start spending millions and millions and millions of dollars in making a game'
Latest in News
Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is getting a new mountain next month and a whole bunch more throughout the year, including a game editor
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's director was 'starving for new turn-based RPGs,' and figured if he wanted them, there would be others out there who'd want to play his game
'The Middle East's answer to Marvel Rivals' is an 'AI-powered', crypto-infused hero shooter that looks like hot garbage
Wield a brinerevolver as a brinehunter in Abyssus, the briniest ‘brinepunk’ shooter this side of the Mariana Trench
In this airship-building survival game, I faced an enemy worth punching trees over: 'The hubris of man'
If you were worried Onimusha 2 won’t be hard enough, I have great news: Hell mode is here to ruin your life
More about third person shooter
'Searches for Invisible Woman went up 3,000%': Marvel Rivals devs innocently reflect on how popular some of their heroes have become
Helldivers 2 CCO Johan Pilestedt says the industry's got it backwards by putting features over fundamentals: 'We talk way too little about the core philosophy'
Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is getting a new mountain next month and a whole bunch more throughout the year, including a game editor
See more latest
Most Popular
Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is getting a new mountain next month and a whole bunch more throughout the year, including a game editor
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's director was 'starving for new turn-based RPGs,' and figured if he wanted them, there would be others out there who'd want to play his game
Wield a brinerevolver as a brinehunter in Abyssus, the briniest ‘brinepunk’ shooter this side of the Mariana Trench
In this airship-building survival game, I faced an enemy worth punching trees over: 'The hubris of man'
If you were worried Onimusha 2 won’t be hard enough, I have great news: Hell mode is here to ruin your life
Painkiller is back, and maybe they'll finally get it right this time
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is heading to the ocean with a Viking-themed naval expansion this summer
The Finals new season is here, toting permanent team deathmatch and a giant minigun
Nightdive's remaster of System Shock 2, the peak of immersive sims, finally has a release date
Wizards of the Coast gaming head says Baldur's Gate 3 'certainly raised the bar' and changed how they think about big budget D&D, but they still want 'different entry points' including smaller games
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDES
LATEST GAME REVIEWS
Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
Best graphics card for laptops in 2025: the mobile GPUs I'd want in my next gaming laptop
Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
Best 14-inch gaming laptop in 2025: The top compact gaming laptops I've held in these hands
Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I've tested
Samsung 9100 Pro 2 TB review
Expelled! review: Inkle proves the Overboard structure can tell a more complex story without losing the malicious glee
Assassin's Creed Shadows review
Endorfy Fortis 5 Dual Fan review
Cataclismo review: Exceptional city building mechanics support a game that sometimes feels like a chore
PC Gamer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Advertise with us
Accessibility Statement
Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury,
BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.
Please login or signup to comment
Please wait...