Strinova is a third-person hero shooter coming out this week, and its recent closed beta functioned more like an open beta despite the label. Its anime art style caught my eye, so I decided to register and try it out. While this hero shooter had much in common with others in the genre, I thoroughly enjoyed the new mechanics it introduced.

This new third-person shooter from iDreamSky has elements players of Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch and Valorant will find familiar, such as game modes and Agent roles. However, the game sets itself apart by implementing a mechanic called “Stringify,” allowing Agents to turn from 3D into paper-thin 2D models.

Stringify allows Agents to avoid gunfire, climb up walls and even glide through the air, but they can’t shoot or use abilities while Stringified. This mechanic allows for possibilities like chambering sniper rifle rounds while minimizing one’s hitbox and traversing walls mid-gunfight. It was incredibly entertaining to move around like this, but it isn’t so over-the-top like how some Call of Duty games and Titanfall implement movement mechanics. Spamming glides or sprints won’t do much good.

Each Agent has unique abilities and primary weapons, while secondary weapons and grenades can be swapped out. You have many familiar roles like snipers, designated marksmen with semi-automatic rifles, mid-range assault units and close-quarters-focused brawlers armed with shotguns. The abilities range from defensive supports to lone-wolf offensive kits, though Strinova doesn’t encourage engaging groups of enemies alone due to a longer time to kill.

My favorite Agent from the open beta is Meredith (image below), a mid-range assault Agent who can glide in mid-air longer due to a time-slowing mechanic. Her gunplay feels almost inspired by Warframe’s Zephyr, who also has extended airtime. Meredith also has area denial abilities that apply debuffs, most significantly with her Ultimate Skill that drains HP temporarily while limiting vision.

Jeremy Gan for Engadget

Another standout is Audrey, whose ability turns her into a stationary turret and lets her fire her machine gun without recoil or reloading. However, you’ll want to watch out for overheating. She has a limited shield that blocks some incoming fire while aiming down the sights — but there’s a catch. Despite being a bullet hose, she’s vulnerable to a single sniper headshot, and a shotgun user can take her out quickly before she enters turret mode, which has a longer startup animation.

There were four game modes in the open beta: team deathmatch, team arena, escort, and demolition. Escort is similar to what Overwatch offers, which has an attacking team escorting a payload to the goal. Demolition is basically competitive Counter-Strike. Team deathmatch has five teams of three fighting each other, while team arena has a 7v7 format. In the last two game modes, Ultimate Skills are disabled.

Based on my experience, Strinova has a longer time to kill, which forces players to be more tactical, especially when everyone can use Stringify to move around. I was forced to ditch my highly aggressive playstyle and employ proper movement and peeking to ensure I survived gunfights. Since each Agent gets to turn 2D, glide and climb walls, there are plenty of ways to get the drop on opponents.

Jeremy Gan for Engadget

Strinova ran smoothly on my gaming laptop, reaching 120FPS easily and rarely dropping many frames. However, there was a glaring bug in which my A key was perceived as being held down. The only way to “fix” was to pause or unplug my keyboard. I usually had to perform the latter, and it was rather annoying to deal with, though hopefully it’s something that gets worked out by release.

I definitely enjoyed playing the Strinova open beta, and the game is set to come out on November 21. There are plenty of other cool things in the game, but the combat absolutely stands out. I don’t play that many hero shooters, but this one is like a diamond in the rough to me.