Ghost Recon Breakpoint
A tedious open-world tactical shooter.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands was a middling experience, but it wasn’t entirely devoid of potential. With more diverse missions, a greater range of tactical gadgets and abilities, and a better thought-out story, it might have succeeded in justifying its huge world and absurd number of activities.
As a sequel Ghost Recon: Breakpoint adds none of these things. In fact Breakpoint adds nothing of value to the Ghost Recon template. Instead it transplants into Wildlands’ structure several systems from other Ubisoft franchises, systems that have no place in a game like Ghost Recon. Meanwhile it actively removes some features that were present in Wildlands, while making others considerably worse. In case I’ve not made it clear, I don’t think it’s very good.
At least the story isn’t likely to trigger a political incident, although this is mainly because it’s unlikely to trigger any spark of emotion whatsoever.
Players assume the role of Nomad (which, incidentally, also means ‘Walker’, suggesting the writers struggled to come up with two generic soldier names) deployed as part of a large team of Ghosts to investigate the situation on Auroa. But the Ghosts’ helicopters are shot down by the island’s weapons system, and Nomad finds himself alone and hunted through the forest by Walker’s gang of mercenaries who call themselves the Wolves.
At least the story isn’t likely to trigger a political incident.
FEEL THE BERNTHAL
There is some potential in the new setting. The amorality and unaccountability of modern tech giants, particularly in their associations with the world’s military organisations, is a rich seam to explore in a tactical shooter. Sadly this potential is squandered in favour of a more generic military tale exploring Nomad and Walker’s relationship, which is detailed through long, unskippable flashback cutscenes. Jon Bernthal does a splendid job inhabiting the role of Jon Bernthal, but it’s hard to take his character seriously when every NPC around him looks and acts like a mannequin with a mop on its head.
The quality of the storytelling is generally poor, but the real issue is how insistent it is upon its own misplaced importance. To dispense its narrative, Breakpoint has adopted wholesale the conversation system from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
BREAKPOINT-LESS
Ubisoft’s struggle to make drab military gear interesting as loot also leads them to some absurd places, where a trucker’s cap offers greater protection than a crash-proof helmet.
These bolted-on systems come at the cost of improving the core experience, which, in the right circumstances, can be enjoyable. Like Wildlands, Breakpoint can be played with up to four people. Personally I found it most enjoyable with two, as beyond that it’s difficult to play stealthily. Specifically, one of us would deploy as a sniper in an overwatch role, while the other performed the wetwork of infiltrating bases and completing objectives. Using this structure we quickly fell into a fun routine, hovering over bases in a helicopter and studying the layout, before dropping off the sniper at a nearby elevation point with a good overview of the base. They would then scout out enemy patrols and take out straggling guards, while the other player located an entry point and tried to sneak to the objective. If the alarm was raised we’d switch to all-out assault, which Ghost Recon facilitates nicely through its slick aiming and lethalfeeling guns.
Played in this way Breakpoint is fun in short bursts. However, it takes little for the enjoyment to stall. Trying to navigate Auroa on foot is incredibly difficult due to its craggy terrain, compounded by Breakpoint’s weirdly specific simulation of traversing slopes. If you run too quickly down one or try to climb one that’s too steep, you’ll start to slide, before eventually stumbling into a health-depleting roll. Groundbased vehicles are also generally a no-go, as they too easily alert enemies to your presence.
There is some method behind this apparent madness. Breakpoint is notionally a survivalist shooter, one where your team is deep inside enemy territory, forced to subsist in the wilderness over a long period of time. Essentially, it wants to be a Bravo Two Zero simulator. The screescrambling mechanic is one of several ideas intended to reflect this. One of the few ideas I genuinely like about Breakpoint is the way your character gets covered in mud and snow as they traverse the terrain. You can even use it to camouflage yourself.
ON YOUR OWN
Breakpoint caters particularly poorly for solo players. The AI companions who accompanied you in Bolivia have been cut out completely, but the game doesn’t compensate for this in solo play. Breakpoint is not an especially difficult game, but there are points when it becomes punishingly hard to play solo. In one example, where I had to defend a scientist stood at the end of a causeway, the only way I could stop my position being rushed by enemies was to deliberately crash a helicopter in the doorway from which they approached. Criticising a co-op game for poor solo play may not seem fair, but there are plenty of similar titles on the market which are enjoyable when played alone, such as Remnant: From the Ashes or Ubisoft’s own The Division 2. RICK