‘BattleBit’ polished, responsive
Who needs awesome graphics anyway? At first glance, publisher SgtOkiDoki’s hit first-person shooter “BattleBit Remastered” seems to lean more silly than simulator.
I mean, just look. The game is as indie as it gets — made by just four people — and features low-poly, Roblox-like character models. But under the hood is a hardcore military simulator’s dream, a game that plays like the “Battlefield” series, featuring massive battles of up to 254 players simultaneously.
The characters are blocky and primitive, but the animation is crisp and responsive, with topnotch sound design. The landscapes look flat and simple, but are fully destructible and allow for complex maneuvering. Put snipers in the windows, or on the rooftop, or counter snipers by using a helicopter to bring an entire building to the ground.
What’s more is that “BattleBit Remastered” costs only $15, with no microtransactions, and is clearly resonating with players as the concurrent player count is still averaging above 20,000 people. Lots of players are necessary in a game with battles of up to 127 vs. 127 players.
The game-play is simple enough that any “Battlefield” player will pick it up right away. Queue up for a battle, choose a class such as Medic, Support, Engineer, Assault or Recon, and deplete the enemy’s tickets, either by killing the other team more or holding onto control points.
“BattleBit” makes it easy to squad up and party up, with both squad and proximity-based voice chat. There is a prestige system for rank-chasers, and weapons are leveled up by using weapons, and leveling up unlocks a progression of attachments for those weapons. (Currently, there are six classes, 39 guns and dozens and dozens of unlockable attachments and gadgets.)
And while the game-play
looks deceptively simple, there’s a high skill ceiling, as the physics are on point, with bullets dropping over distance and sniper vs. sniper battles being entertaining; but equally fun are squads of infantrymen charging each other with automatic rifles, or teams of squads swooping in on helicopters, with soldiers dangling from ropes for daring rooftop incursions.
Every team needs a good medic, too, to drag injured players to safety and revive them, getting them back into the battle quickly.
Whatever battlefield role you enjoy the most — whether it’s being the chopper pilot, tank commander, rocketeer or even if you just enjoy strapping some C4 to a quad bike and launching a kamikaze attack on an enemy position, there’s something for every type of player.
That seems to be the secret sauce. Just have fun. No needing to grind daily quests as classes you don’t enjoy or pay a $20 a month battlepass fee. Just hop on, play your favorite class and hop off when you want. It’s gaming on your terms, and players have responded with fervor. Let’s hope more developers listen.
Ultimately, “BattleBit Remastered” is a game that punches above its weight class. And despite being in technical Early Access, the game-play is polished, responsive and fun. Let’s have more of these types of games, and fewer billion-dollar cash grabs.