With the arrival of Apex Legends into the battle royale scene recently, there is a question to what is the best battle royale game out there? Is Fortnite the reigning champion from last year, or perhaps its a title short-lived? Or perhaps PUBG is making a comeback that nobody expected? We'll be looking into what makes each of these battle royale titles unique in its own way, and we'll be looking at the main components of a game that would ultimately dictate whether a game is better than the other. Let's compare the 3 famous battle royale titles currently available in the market and look at what exactly gives the game its soul.
GRAPHICS & SOUNDS
PUBG: Think real-life simulator mixed in Hunger Games. That's the general vibe PUBG is trying to achieve with its graphics. Though PUBG strives to mimic reality as close as it can, it limits the frame of creativity to a certain extent. But credit is due with the level of realism that the game brings. The character movements are quite realistic, as well as the weapons and gear made available around the map. The structures introduced are also close to those that you could find in the real world.
FORTNITE: The game uses a more cartoonish approach with its graphics. The vibe of the game is also somewhat lighter than other battle royale titles out there. The graphics style also allowed younger gamers to play the game without being exposed to violent (simulated) images from the game. Quirky weapons and characters to be used in the game and with interesting looking gear that is spread around the map.
APEX LEGENDS: We get thrown right into an alien game reserve where legends battle for supremacy. I say alien confidently because of gigantic things that are taking a little stroll at the coastline of the island. Instead of pushing to real life graphics, Apex Legends accept that it's a game and focused on to achieve the aesthetics of an awesome-looking game. The weapons are completely different although we do have the same categories (shotgun, LMG, SMG, etc), borrowing a lot of it from the Titanfall series.
GAMEPLAY:
PUBG: As it tries to emulate, PUBG brings real-life physics into the game, and the battles that take place between players can only be described as raw shooting that requires accuracy. PUBG also features vehicles for travel and also as a shield against attacks.
FORTNITE: Fornite features a rather odd game mechanic: build. So it would be aptly described as a game that focuses on a combination of shooting and building. Fornite focuses on more strategic gameplay instead of accuracy. It also features vehicles to travel and recently, specific vehicles to attack other players. It also features a good ping system to help in team modes, as well as pretty cool emote options.
APEX LEGENDS: The game focuses fast-paced combat as players can maneuver in and out of gunfights quickly, recharge their shields and flank the enemy. There are no vehicles in the game but Apex Legends offer players zip lines that allow players to go all the way up and cruise around the map with their jetpacks, similar to when they jump out from the dropship. It also features a very new mechanic of letting players revive their dead teammates and specific beacon points. It also the most comprehensive ping system out of all battle royale available today.
AVAILABILITY:
You can find these following games in PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For PC players, each one of those games is available at their own respective marketplace where PUBG can only be found at Steam, Fortnite at Epic Games Store and Apex Legends at Origins. Other than that, Fortnite is currently the only game that is available to be played on Nintendo Switch, Mac, IOS and Android. Well technically, PUBG is also available for IOS and Android devices. But that version of PUBG is under a different name which is PUBG Mobile, therefore a different story. Interestingly, Fortnite is currently the online Battle Royale game in the market that offers a cross-platform feature which allows players from different platforms play together. Sadly, PS4 is the only one being left out from the party as they want to let their players experience the so-called “best gameplay experience”. Whilst there is still no news on cross platforming at the current moment for both PUBG and Apex Legends. Moreover, three of these games are available globally.
Most of the Battle Royale games are free to play including Fortnite and Apex Legends, except for PUBG. Players who want to play PUBG are required to pay $29.99 in order to gain access to play. Moving on to another topic, Battle Pass is currently a hot trend for pretty much every online games nowadays which includes all three games in this article. The battle pass for PUBG is currently solely available on Steam for the price $39.99, whilst the battle pass for Fortnite and Apex Legends are both in-game purchases. Coincidentally, the battle pass for Fortnite and Apex Legends are quite similar in terms of every aspect. Both game’s standard battle pass cost 950 in game currencies and the bundled version cost 2800 in game currencies which include access to the Battle Pass and instantly unlocks your next 25 tiers. In order to buy the battle pass for both of the games, players will have to purchase in game currencies. For Fortnite, their in game currency are called V Bucks whereas the price for 1000 V Bucks, 2500+300 V Bucks, 4000+1000 V Bucks, 10000+3500 V Bucks are $9.99, $24.99, $39.99 and $99.99 for all platforms. As for Apex Legends, the price on all platforms are the same whereas 1000 Apex Coins, 2000+150 Apex Coins, 4000+350 Apex Coins, 6000+700 Apex Coins, 10000+3500 Apex Coins are $9.99, $19.99, $39.99, $59.99, $99.99 respectively.
CONCLUSION
The experience that is provided by the three battle royale title is different. PUBG provides a more realistic environment at the cost of creativity, while Fortnite and Apex Legends wear their creativity as a badge, bringing out distinctive and unique gaming experience. All in all, Apex Legends seems to have a slighter edge compared to the other two games as it happens to have a more complete experience and faster gameplay. Although to be fair, Apex Legends is a newer title and had time to tweak its mechanics based on other games, but it should note that publishers/developers should always strive in improving their game, instead of just hanging on 100% to the in-game economy. As gamers, we're always looking forward to seeing developers to outdo themselves and we hope to see more effort put in PUBG, as Fortnite is rallying up its effort in recent times.
GRAPHICS & SOUNDS
PUBG: Think real-life simulator mixed in Hunger Games. That's the general vibe PUBG is trying to achieve with its graphics. Though PUBG strives to mimic reality as close as it can, it limits the frame of creativity to a certain extent. But credit is due with the level of realism that the game brings. The character movements are quite realistic, as well as the weapons and gear made available around the map. The structures introduced are also close to those that you could find in the real world.
FORTNITE: The game uses a more cartoonish approach with its graphics. The vibe of the game is also somewhat lighter than other battle royale titles out there. The graphics style also allowed younger gamers to play the game without being exposed to violent (simulated) images from the game. Quirky weapons and characters to be used in the game and with interesting looking gear that is spread around the map.
APEX LEGENDS: We get thrown right into an alien game reserve where legends battle for supremacy. I say alien confidently because of gigantic things that are taking a little stroll at the coastline of the island. Instead of pushing to real life graphics, Apex Legends accept that it's a game and focused on to achieve the aesthetics of an awesome-looking game. The weapons are completely different although we do have the same categories (shotgun, LMG, SMG, etc), borrowing a lot of it from the Titanfall series.
GAMEPLAY:
PUBG: As it tries to emulate, PUBG brings real-life physics into the game, and the battles that take place between players can only be described as raw shooting that requires accuracy. PUBG also features vehicles for travel and also as a shield against attacks.
FORTNITE: Fornite features a rather odd game mechanic: build. So it would be aptly described as a game that focuses on a combination of shooting and building. Fornite focuses on more strategic gameplay instead of accuracy. It also features vehicles to travel and recently, specific vehicles to attack other players. It also features a good ping system to help in team modes, as well as pretty cool emote options.
APEX LEGENDS: The game focuses fast-paced combat as players can maneuver in and out of gunfights quickly, recharge their shields and flank the enemy. There are no vehicles in the game but Apex Legends offer players zip lines that allow players to go all the way up and cruise around the map with their jetpacks, similar to when they jump out from the dropship. It also features a very new mechanic of letting players revive their dead teammates and specific beacon points. It also the most comprehensive ping system out of all battle royale available today.
AVAILABILITY:
You can find these following games in PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For PC players, each one of those games is available at their own respective marketplace where PUBG can only be found at Steam, Fortnite at Epic Games Store and Apex Legends at Origins. Other than that, Fortnite is currently the only game that is available to be played on Nintendo Switch, Mac, IOS and Android. Well technically, PUBG is also available for IOS and Android devices. But that version of PUBG is under a different name which is PUBG Mobile, therefore a different story. Interestingly, Fortnite is currently the online Battle Royale game in the market that offers a cross-platform feature which allows players from different platforms play together. Sadly, PS4 is the only one being left out from the party as they want to let their players experience the so-called “best gameplay experience”. Whilst there is still no news on cross platforming at the current moment for both PUBG and Apex Legends. Moreover, three of these games are available globally.
Most of the Battle Royale games are free to play including Fortnite and Apex Legends, except for PUBG. Players who want to play PUBG are required to pay $29.99 in order to gain access to play. Moving on to another topic, Battle Pass is currently a hot trend for pretty much every online games nowadays which includes all three games in this article. The battle pass for PUBG is currently solely available on Steam for the price $39.99, whilst the battle pass for Fortnite and Apex Legends are both in-game purchases. Coincidentally, the battle pass for Fortnite and Apex Legends are quite similar in terms of every aspect. Both game’s standard battle pass cost 950 in game currencies and the bundled version cost 2800 in game currencies which include access to the Battle Pass and instantly unlocks your next 25 tiers. In order to buy the battle pass for both of the games, players will have to purchase in game currencies. For Fortnite, their in game currency are called V Bucks whereas the price for 1000 V Bucks, 2500+300 V Bucks, 4000+1000 V Bucks, 10000+3500 V Bucks are $9.99, $24.99, $39.99 and $99.99 for all platforms. As for Apex Legends, the price on all platforms are the same whereas 1000 Apex Coins, 2000+150 Apex Coins, 4000+350 Apex Coins, 6000+700 Apex Coins, 10000+3500 Apex Coins are $9.99, $19.99, $39.99, $59.99, $99.99 respectively.
CONCLUSION
The experience that is provided by the three battle royale title is different. PUBG provides a more realistic environment at the cost of creativity, while Fortnite and Apex Legends wear their creativity as a badge, bringing out distinctive and unique gaming experience. All in all, Apex Legends seems to have a slighter edge compared to the other two games as it happens to have a more complete experience and faster gameplay. Although to be fair, Apex Legends is a newer title and had time to tweak its mechanics based on other games, but it should note that publishers/developers should always strive in improving their game, instead of just hanging on 100% to the in-game economy. As gamers, we're always looking forward to seeing developers to outdo themselves and we hope to see more effort put in PUBG, as Fortnite is rallying up its effort in recent times.
