The 2010s as a decade birthed an entirely new genre of shooter games; the battle royale. The fast-paced PvP action has kept players hooked for years, but why? What makes them successful? Why do we still play them even though the concept is so simple?
Every battle royale has its own unique selling points, be it the graphics style or class systems. Personally, I struggled with the building aspect of Fortnite whereas the class-based systems in Apex Legends really mixed up the combat styles. It’s a matter of personal taste. By “objectively” looking at the pros and cons of each:
Fortnite
The big daddy in the genre; Fortnite had us flossing for months on end. The simple world and character design made the game really appealing to a more casual audience – and bringing in a younger player base. We’ve all seen the videos of kids crying when their Fortnite is taken away and those news articles about Fortnite addiction – and there’s good reason with, not only Fortnite but the whole genre. It’s so easy to get a “one-more-game” mentality. The cons with Fortnite are from where it became too popular. The merch and the season passes kept bringing in money, and now only the hardcore Fortnite players remain. The reach to try and pull as many players in with its free to play on so many platforms has made it kind of messy, as it doesn’t work well on mobile or the Nintendo Switch, due to the complex nature of the building mechanic just makes combat clunky and difficult.
Apex Legends
The new kid on the block – Apex Legends takes the Titanfall saga in a new direction. In this class-based shooter, gun modifications and champion abilities can swing a shoot-out in your favour. Hailing from four different classes (offense, defense, support and recon) – you need to play around each individual’s kit, and synergise with the rest of your team. Unlike other battle royales, Apex Legends is usually only available to play as teams of three – meaning that coordination and communication is a must with more realistic modern-day graphics set in a futuristic space-aged shooter setting. The criticism of Apex though is how rarely new content for everyone (that isn’t a pay-to-play like some of their collection events) – new events come around each month but actual champion release and map updates are done each season (which is once every three months).
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Call Of Duty Blackout
I’ve grouped these two together as there’s quite a bit similar between the two – they both have similar aesthetics and similar gameplay mechanics, such as vehicles. They are both polished, however, there’s nothing exciting about the two – granted that PUBG was the OG battle royale; its just dead in comparison to the likes of Fortnite or Apex Legends. There’s nothing exciting about a modern military battle royale that other games are doing better with more unique USPs.
So, to summarise, if pure combat is your thing, go with PUBG. If you like combining abilities with your team-mates to completely decimate the enemy squads, then go with Apex Legends, and if you just like to play The Sims but have violent tendencies, then Fortnite is the one for you.
