Imagine being dropped into a world made for just 100 people with no equipment and your goal is to be the last one standing while moving according to the shrinking play-zone for that elusive victory, this is basically what makes a Battle Royale game.
The name for this genre comes from a 2000s Japanese movie of the same name, ‘Battle Royale’. These games mix in the acts of survival, scavenging and exploration in one package which makes for a gratifying and exhilarating experience.
The formative years of this genre were controlled by custom Minecraft Minigames and ARMA 2 and these set in motion, this trend, which has become a global phenomenon in the gaming industry.
Battle Royale games have been the trend for a significant portion of 2017 and have continued to grow since and have seen multiple adaptions of the specific game mode into the most popular series’ across the Shooting Game Genre.
Made hugely popular by the likes of ‘PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’ also known as ‘PUBG’ and Fortnite, this genre has found its way into mainstream games such as Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 (BO4) and Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).
In this article, we are going to talk about the Top 7 Battle Royale games in no specific order.
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H1Z1
Now known as Z1: Battle Royale is a game that you can say implemented the current style of gameplay the earliest. The game is similar in many ways to PUBG, but it includes an ability to craft items like bandages and armour from scavenged material adding its unique flair to the game.
The game also has vehicles spread across the map that is used for travelling to or from the enemies. The playable area shrinks due to a toxic cloud which compresses the map and forces players into close encounters.
After a string of updates which took away the game’s initial flair, the developers have started taking efforts to make the game what it was when every player fell in love with it, they’ve also added a region wise ranked mode which lets 75 of the top ranked players compete against each other.
H1Z1 is available on PC and the PlayStation 4.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Developed and Published by PUBG Corporation Bluehole in South Korea, this game originated from a mod that Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene made for other games.This is one game that we can say perfected the battle royale formula first. The various guns available and the game mechanics give the game a very realistic feel. The game has a reducing map area just like the other games. Character customisation makes an appearance here in the form of different clothes for base templates which the players can use.
The Game has four available maps as of now they are Erangel, Miramar, Sanhok and Vikendi. Each map has its unique aspects and style of gameplay.
The conditions of the map lead players to change their approach to visible players, and use of the environmental conditions is vital in avoiding players by listening to sounds.
PlayerUnknowns’s Battlegrounds is available on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
It has another version known as PUBG Mobile for the iOS and Android Platforms.
Fortnite: Battle Royale
Developed by Epic Games as a part of their Fornite: Save The World, this game has been by far the most popular battle royale game only receiving severe competition by EA’s latest release, ‘Apex Legends’.
The game has a third–person viewing angle and has a simple inventory management system, the gameplay is different from other Battle Royale Games in the sense that it has an aspect of building to it which up to some extent controls how a game plays out.
The game played on the Fortnite Map is one which is full of surprises. The Map is continuously changing as new additions are made in each season (each Season lasts for about two and a half months) of the game.
Each season of the game also comes along with a brand new Battle Pass which offers in game cosmetics which are unlocked by tier progression.
Fortnite is free-to-play along with micro-transactions and is available on PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android and iOS.
Also read: 8 tips and tricks for Fortnite Battle Royale to get a #1VictoryRoyale for beginners
Realm Royale
A spin-off of the sci-fi hero shooter Paladins, Realm Royale — initially known as Paladins: Battlegrounds — is a game that plays out like previously talked about Battle Royale Games.
It also has a Fortnite like seasonal Battle Pass which offers Character Cosmetics. The In-game mechanics are different in the way that there are four available classes for you to choose from and these come with their unique talents which are unlocked by levelling up.
Like H1Z1 this game has a crafting system too, the crafting happens in a place called the Forge which is usually a highly contested spot. Also, a knocked down player in this game respawns as a chicken and has a chance to get back into the fight if he can avoid being killed in the chicken form.
Realm Royale is available on the following platforms – PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Counter Strike: Global Offensive
An FPS series that originated as a mod to another game and then became its separate entity and is now followed by millions of people worldwide have also jumped onto the Battle Royale train, but with its twist, I must say.
Unlike all the games mentioned until now, this game has a total of 16/18 players in a game at once. The game consists of fast-paced gameplay – each player begins with a knife and publicly discloses that drop location before leaving the dropship and can order weapons to their location upon landing.
Cash for weapons is found hidden all across the map, and random airstrikes take place in the hexagonal sections of the map known as Blacksite.
Counter Strike: Global Offensive is now available in the Free-to-Play CS:GO on PC.
Also read: CS:GO: Hacks that get you banned vs hacks that help you out
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4
Call Of Duty as we know it is an FPS Game that is known for its highly competitive TDM Games and Free-for-All’s, but with Black Ops 4 the series decided to drop the traditional campaign and included a Battle Royale game mode which goes by the name ‘Blackout’.
Blackout has a map which is considerably larger than any Call Of Duty map seen until now. The Map has several locations and characters from previous games making an entry.
In terms of gameplay difference, the game has several spots where AI controlled zombies are present, and these zombies drop loot for players to use (items like the Ray Gun).
The wide variety of guns make gameplay the most interesting and the ability to heal while running add up to the games uniqueness and fluidity. The only grip that most players have is that the inventory system at launch was woefully awkward to use.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 is available on PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
Also read: Everything you need to know about the upcoming Call of Duty: Mobile
Apex Legends
Apex Legends is the one game that has been able to shake up the Battle Royale Genre recently; it has directly provided competition to Fortnite in the initial days of its release.
Developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by EA(Electronic Arts), Apex Legends is based in the Titanfall Universe. The game once again has a similar gameplay style to other Battle Royale games but has an FPS viewpoint and hero categories to provide variety in gameplay.
The uniqueness to this game is brought by the fact that it can only be played in trios and the available classes each have their unique skills which can shake up a specific moment in the game. The map has vertical ziplines in place allowing a player to use them to go back into the gliding mode to change locations/travel faster.
The drop system in this game is different when compared to other games as in this a drop is controlled by one player known as the ‘Jumpmaster’ (other players can choose to launch solo). The game has 60 players on the map at once battling it out to become the Champion.
Apex Legends is available on PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One as of now but Respawn has expressed interest in provided cross-platform support for the game. Check out our review of Apex Legends.
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