Battle Royale games are a dime a dozen as of 2019 however, Apex Legends stands out as one that could potentially be the “Fortnite Killer”.
Similar to Fortnite the game is free-to-play, in which it is developed by Respawn Entertainment and Published by Electronic Arts. It takes place in the same universe as their much beloved Titanfall game series.
Surprisingly, Respawn Entertainment’s sleeper hit garnered a wealth of players in such a short amount of time. With many Twitch streamers broadcasting the game so much so that it currently sits at first place on the Twitch charts for viewers to watch all around the world.
The game allows you to play as a variety of different ‘Legends’ which all have their own unique abilities and appearances.
This allows it to create its own identity among the abundance of battle royale style games while also, offering something new to players unfamiliar with hero shooters such as the popular Overwatch while also appealing to a specific player-base that thoroughly enjoys that kind of game.
The highlight of this particular battle royale is its accessibility and what many have taken to calling it: its “game feel.”
A player’s survival is not just in the hands of how well they can wield a weapon but in how well they can traverse the games many structures, slide below enemy gunfire, zip across rope slides, skid down hills and vault over objects.
All of which have been polished so much so that you will feel that you are playing a platformer rather than another battle royale shooter, which is a testament to the fluidity of the gameplay as a whole.
That’s not to say the game is perfect. Many players have criticised the game’s lack of freedom to choose to play solo, duos or squads (just like in other competing battle royale titles) forcing you to play in a three. With this being said, this is most likely only a temporary drawback to the game as Respawn’s ability to remedy this negative will be an easy job for such a capable development team.
Apex Legends is a solid entry into the battle royale scene for both Respawn and Electronic Arts. With it being free-to-play as of right now, people all over the world can get into it with no hidden fees attached. It offers a new take on the genre that we haven’t experienced before with refined movement and traversal while also, borrowing tried and tested elements from already successful games in the industry today.
Many have labelled it as the “Fortnite Killer.” Although, it’s hard to call it that as of yet. But, it is safe to say that with enough updates, free content and added features, it could turn out that within just a few months it could be the apex of the battle royale genre.
By Joe Smalley