Black Stigma is a brand-new third-person hero shooter where your skills are put to the test in its unique close-quarters combat and shooting gameplay. Read on to learn everything we know, our review of the demo, and more.
Everything We Know About Black Stigma
Black Stigma Plot
Die or kill? You can only choose one! The war has begun!
Ruthless masters from rival syndicates fight in brutal battles for control of the city’s underworld. Every tactic is fair game, whether it’s long-range gunfights, close-quarters brawling, sneaky ambushes, or full-on chaos. Your strategy and choices shape the outcome of every fight.
Black Stigma Gameplay
BLACK STIGMA is a hero shooter built around a unique combat system that blends close-quarters combat and shooting mechanics. Players will choose a master and engage in intense battles set in abandoned subways, secret hideouts, and even luxurious rooftops. Each master has their unique skillset to dominate the battlefield. Lastly, players can customize their choice of weapon to leave a mark of their own style.
Black Stigma Release Date
Black Stigma was released in Early Access on July 18, 2025 for PC (Steam). It was announced on the game’s Steam store page that the developers are planning to stay in Early Access for about six months. During this time, new masters, weapons, game modes, and balance changes will be released as the Early Access period continues.
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Black Stigma Review (Demo)
When a new free-to-play multiplayer hero shooter is announced, I don’t think that I’m the only one who is immediately skeptical about it. I’m pretty sure that we’ve all seen our fair share of games that just look…off. And most of it comes from the hero shooter genre, as people continue to try and replicate the success of other hero shooters that came before it.
It’s a genre where the product needs good marketing, first and foremost, and the gameplay is solid enough to keep people staying. Enter Black Stigma, a new free-to-play multiplayer hero shooter that’s looking to invade the scene. Does it have enough to stay relevant? Or is it just another hero shooter that’s just looking to cash in with live-service monetization?
A Decent Looker, But Not a Talker
Let’s start with how the game is visually. The whole cel-shaded, stylized, anime-esque art style looks great. The characters, or masters, also have a lot going for them. I would say that the designs themselves are good. I would say that the main appeal would be the contrast between the characters, as they all look very different from each other. It also helps that the game is primarily a third-person shooter, so you see the characters a lot.
Now, for the bad parts. Seeing most of them in motion just feels wrong. The animations look really off, and save for some exceptions, the game just looks weird when it comes to fast-paced gameplay. It’s not entirely bad, but the visuals are definitely a mixed bag of good when it’s still and bad when it’s moving.
Next, the UI isn’t great either. It’s cluttered and messy, and at times confusing to look at. It looks as if the game was supposed to be a mobile game that was ported to the PC. And to set the record straight, there's nothing wrong with mobile games, but this game in particular looks similar to a lot of the shooters that are released on that platform.
As for the sound design, well… it’s not good. The voice acting is really off the mark, and the other elements, like sound effects and music, aren’t particularly great either. It also doesn’t help that what you hear the most is the characters speaking when they get kills, use skills, and the like. It’s something you’re going to have to stomach for the entire experience.
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Shamelessly Expensive
One of the main issues that the game faces is that it uses a live-service model. So, monetization is to be expected. But the prices of everything are outrageous. There’s not much you can buy with the free currency they give you, and even then, it’ll take you days before you can get at least multiple characters to play with. On top of all of that, the packs are also predatory.
For example, an event skin is priced at 4200 BS Coins, so you’ll need to buy $29.99 worth of currency (3270 BS) and another $9.99 (1080) just to barely afford one rare skin. That’s $40 spent on something that’s supposed to be on a 50% sale. If that wasn’t enough, the game launches with a battle pass where you’ll need to buy the premium
version to get more out of it.
More Frustrating Than Fun
Now, pricing and presentation aside, can the gameplay stand on its own? Well, it depends on how much you enjoy third-person hero shooters. If you are a dinosaur like I am, you would be familiar with an online game called GunZ: The Duel. The gameplay is sort of like that, but that’s already stretching it.
Each character has a role that coincides with their skills. Striker characters primarily have offensive skills, disruptors have vision control abilities, and more. They also have some sort of crowd control and melee ability that are more than enough to secure a kill. Actually, most of the time you’d get kills when you just land your crowd control skill and shoot them when they’re on the floor.
Stuns have an outrageously long duration, and getting hit by one is a death sentence. So in certain game modes, it becomes a case of who lands the stun or who gets to use their melee abilities first. It’s an extremely volatile design of multiplayer gameplay, not to mention that the damage numbers are also very high.
For some reason, the guns in the game are also just limited to pistols. Which should be fine, but not everyone has the same access to the same weaponry. Now, you may think that there’s nothing wrong with that since that can be a balancing thing. But the guns can be customized and upgraded, meaning that an F2P player will have to grind for upgrades for multiple weapons just to stay competitive against others who have bought upgrades.
Lastly, the game has some network issues to sort out. I’m fairly certain that I was matched up with bots for a few games, and then I ran into a higher-ranked player who completely dumpstered me and the entire team.
Real Stigma Grindset
So, does Black Stigma have something to stay relevant? Not really. A lot of things work against the game, and some of them aren’t things that you can fix with a patch. It’s a free-to-play game with pay-to-win mechanics, decent visuals with bad animations, volatile competitive
gameplay, and predatory pricing. Can the game be fun? Sure, if you can look past all of that and just play the game. But I cannot recommend this game for anyone to play. There are other choices out there, and I don’t think this game is worth the investment of both time and money.
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Black Stigma Product Information
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| Title | BLACK STIGMA |
|---|---|
| Release Date | July 18, 2025 |
| Developer | BoldPlay Games |
| Publisher | BoldPlay Games |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam) |
| Genre | Action, Shooting, Indie |
| Number of Players | 1-12 (1v1, 3v3, 6v6, 3v3v3) |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Black Stigma Official Website |
