Warframe is a cooperative-focused, third-person shooter online game developed and published by Digital Extremes. A free-to-play game, it has been released on Windows, PlayStation 4, X-box One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S and remains in perpetual beta.

Set in a science fiction setting of a distant future, players play as members of the Tenno race, an ancient race recently awakened from centuries of slumber on Earth, only to find themselves embroiled in the war within the planetary system amongst different factions. Utilizing their powered warframes as well as an arsenal of huge variety of weapons, players are sent on missions and pitted against various enemies in a bid to reunite the scattered colonies throughout the system.

Game’s website Link: https://www.warframe.com/

Game demo:

Elemental Tetrad

Aesthetics

The game utilizes very immersive graphics that really makes you feel like you are in a different world. With a theme of Sci-fi, there are a lot of futuristic-designed and alien-like game assets (i.e. Infested enemies, warframes, space stations). Warframe makes use of the game’s setting to produce many designs that are highly unusual and unique to the science fictional setting within the game, which makes it memorable for many players.

Mechanics

The main game-play is to complete various types of missions in different areas of the planetary system, with different areas providing different type of maps, monsters and features as well as rewards. Players have the ability to customize their warframes and weapons with varying mods depending on their style of game-play and the details of the mission they wish to undertake. Successful completion of missions lets players can acquire new mods and resources which can then be used to further expand their arsenal and builds for harder content in the game.

Story

There are story-specific missions in the game which players can choose to progress at their own pace. Progress on these story-lines helps players explore the setting and history in the game’s verse, better immersing them as the Tenno they play. Unlike normal missions, story-specific missions have a more immersive design that include different music, unique level-maps and cut-scenes to better draw the player into the story.

Technology

The game engine used by Warframe is the Evolution engine, developed by Digital Extremes (DE) to better support their games and newer consoles. Some features of the Evolution engine include modern rendering techniques like PBR (Physically based rendering) and Deferred Rendering.

Lens of Chance (36) & Lens of Reward (46)

A huge part of the game is dependent on one’s luck in acquiring rewards from completing different missions. Better rewards have low drop rates and require some luck on the player’s part to acquire.

• Different missions have different drop tables of rewards, with each reward have their own drop rate.
• Higher level missions have a chance to drop higher quality rewards or a higher drop rate for certain rewards.
• In-game mechanic ‘Relics’ which drop components of higher-end versions of in-game weapons and warframes that cannot be acquired through normal missions but require more resources and luck for specific items.

Lens of Simplicity/Complexity (48)

The game has a lot of basic components that players can utilize, but also a lot of variant and customizable components that they can try if they want to.

• Each warframe and weapon can be further customized to fit the player’s needs (via forma, mods).
• Basic mods can help boost basic (i.e. Health) stats .
• More complex mods (such as rare/vaulted/veiled mods) lets players shape their own build by weighing the pros and cons of the mod’s effect (i.e. Greater increase in range but reduction in damage).
• Players can construct their own weapon and pets with customs stats, attacks and abilities (i.e. Moa, Zaws).

Lens of Expression (97)

Apart from customization of their equipment for mission purposes, players can also customize the aesthetics of belongings that they own, allowing them to express themselves when they play.

• Warframes and other equipment’s appearance can be customized to have different skins and/or colored components.
• Player have their an Orbiter that they are free to decorate and customize the appearance of.
• Companions can be built/bred to have custom appearance (i.e. Kavat Breeding with DNA template).
• Player Guilds own a Dojo that can be decorated and customized to have a unique layout of rooms, design and decorations. Best decorated Dojos can be visited be any player in the game.
• There are instruments (i.e. Shawzin) in-game which players can use to play music in-game to other players.

Lens of Freedom (79)

Besides the freedom provided to the player to customize a lot of elements in the game, the players are also given freedom of choice in the kind of game-play they wish to experience.

• Basic in-game missions which is the regular game-play experienced by all players such as extermination mission, defence mission, etc.
• Open World exploration with other activities such as mining, fishing and catching animals.
• Special game-play (Railjack/Archwings) missions which utilize different game mechanics of combat in space.
• PvP game-play (i.e. Lunaro) where players can partake in competitive team-based mini-games against other players to achieve various objectives for rewards.

Conclusion

One could say that the Essential Element of Warframe is their chance-based reward system and the creativity of the rewards they provide, but the freedom afforded to players regarding customization of in-game elements play a big role too. Till this day, Warframe is still producing new equipment, mods, warframes and other in-game elements that differ from those currently in the game. Players are not required to get these new items, but if they want to, they can put in the effort for it and then customize it for whatever they desire. The realm of possibilities that Warframe provide is equal to all players new or old, and the possibilities will only increase with the amount of effort players put into the game.

Such equality amongst players and consistency of game dynamics over time was the reason why I enjoy playing Warframe, for even if you leave the game for a time, it feels like you have never left at all when you return to it later.