I have always been hopeless at battle royale games. 20 minutes of running around, picking up loot, only to get instantly killed by the first person/team I came across. But there’s something new and exciting about Apex Legends that doesn’t just keep me playing game after game, but it somehow makes me actually believe every game could be a win.
I really enjoyed Titanfall 2 (I even recently went back and played through the campaign again on Master) so I was intrigued by the rumours about this game when they started circulating early last week. A battle royale game from a developer with a pedigree like Respawn’s? I knew this had potential.
Apex Legends features a number of fresh ideas that really makes it stand out from the crowd – here’s a few that, in my opinion, make the most difference:
Ability to respawn
This is an absolutely game changing mechanic and I feel like Respawn as a developer had to implement something like this, since their name is quite literally Respawn. It means the battle is not necessarily over when you die – something that has not been seen before in the genre.
Focus on teamwork
Effective teamwork is really the only way to win this game and Respawn encourages this at every turn. Some people might not appreciate being forced to team up with random players but playing with two friends, communicating and working together is rewarding and absolutely key to getting those wins.
Ping system
This system has already been universally praised, but the ability to tag where enemies are located for all team members to see can be the difference between winning and losing. It could provide your team mates with vital seconds to get the jump on enemies before they spot you.
Character classes
Respawn’s “Legends” as they are called, are great for many reasons – each have unique powers that can be incredibly useful if used at the right time, and also (back to teamwork again) when used together. Bangalore’s smoke grenade combined with Bloodhound’s beast mode can be devastating! The different classes also mean that you can always play the next game as a different character for a completely different style of play following a frustrating loss, or just to mix things up.
Knee sliding
Not only is it super fun to slide around in front of your teammates and pick up loot before them but it’s also extremely useful to get places fast. It also helps to increase the overall pace of the game, which feels a lot faster than other battle royale games, even without vehicles (but sadly no wall running like in Titanfall).
With a battle pass coming next month and new characters, guns and loot to follow throughout the year, I’m excited to see where Respawn takes this fresh take on the battle royale genre. After hitting 25 million players in just one week, Apex Legends has positioned itself as a very legitimate contender to Fortnite’s throne.
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