This bizarre fusion of Scrabble and battle royale works way too well and it's free

Babble Royale is Scrabble crossed with battle royale, and it works so much better than it sounds.

The new online multiplayer game from Everybody House Games hit Steam Early Access as a free-to-play game yesterday, and it's already attracting warrior wordsmiths from around the world. Here's how it works: just like Fortnite or Apex Legends, you airdrop in and choose where to land at the start of each match. But instead of playing a hardcore future gladiator or some kind of fish person, you're a letter tile.

Wherever you land on the grid is where you start assembling words, Scrabble-style, from a tray of letters that steadily fills over time and whatever's already on the board. Scattered across the board are power ups which will increase your score or clear out crowded sections if you reach them. Where does the battle part come in? You're represented by the last word you formed on the board, and if another player connects their word to yours, you're dead. So you'd better connect to them first.

A shrinking safe zone pushes all the players to keep forming their words into one spot, and eventually only the last player standing of 16 will be the victor. As the trailer succinctly explains, it's "words with enemies" instead of Words With Friends.

Oh, also you can customize each of your letter tiles individually with different skins and hats, because it's an online video game in the year 2021 and some things are just sacred. Fair play, though: you can pick up the $60 "Free To Play Sucks Lifetime Pass" if you want to get instant access to everything the developers will ever sell in the cash shop.

It's still too early to say for sure, but perhaps one day Babble Royale will take its place in our list of the best battle royale games.