Jaw-dropping level of polish and new ideas
EA recently released an open letter to the community of their new Battle Royale game. In the letter, one quote in particular stood out:
“We recognized that Battle Royale is not merely a new mode or fad, but a new genre in the shooter space”. If this sentiment hadn’t rung true in light of the near-inconceivable amount of money that the various popular Battle Royale games have generated, then Respawn and EA’s newest offering has surely dispelled any notions to the contrary.
It was almost as if we all collectively blinked and somehow missed Apex Legends arriving on to the Battle Royale scene. Almost overnight, the playerbase was growing by the millions and the game was skyrocketing up the Twitch.tv ranks.
Now, not only is Apex Legends the newest kid on the block – it’s also the biggest. Apex Legends displays all of the tropes we now come to expect with the Battle Royale genre. From dropping into the map in suitably grandiose fashion, to the anxiety-inducing presence of the uninhabitable circle enroaching on the playable area, the game ticks all of the relevant boxes to become part of the increasingly crowded club of Battle Royale cash-grabs.
What sets it head-and-shoulders above any competition, however, is the jaw-dropping level of polish and the groundbreaking new ideas it brings not only to the table of Battle Royale games, but gaming as a whole. One such revolutionary idea is the ‘ping’ system. One of the biggest frustrations in Battle Royale titles such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite is the difficulty in communicating the position of an enemy to a teammate over voice chat. Apex Legends solves this problem by allowing the player a simple command when pointing at virtually every object and situation.
Fully context-dependent, Apex legends will relay your ping to your teammate with unique voiced dialogue, animations and HUD information. Apex also incorporates some elements of hero-shooters into the game, with characters to choose from before jumping into a game. Each Legend has unique abilities that cater to a wide variety of playstyles, without necessarily enforcing them. What is most surprising is just how balanced these classes are, with no one class ever really making another redundant. Impressive for a game that has just launched. Apex legends is almost perfect. One of the most polished multiplayer games at launch we have ever seen. If you like Battle Royale, you like Apex Legends – simple as that.