PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS was one of the first major games to enter the battle royale category. The game quickly gained fame through various streamers and social media videos. A few years later, PUBG became one of the most sold and active games on Steam. Moreover, it was developed by PUBG Corp.
Plot
Players in PUBG are required to follow the classic Last Man Standing or Battle Royale mod. This means that in every game, you will have to try your best to survive till the last. The game has three maps, and all of them follow the same criteria. Usually, 100 players jump from a plane, that moves in a random direction. Before players are dropped, the can pick their favorite spots for looting. Some players tend to drop into towns that are far away from the centre. The majority of them try to drop in Hot places, where 30% of the server intends to land. After being dropped, players pick whatever resources they can find and try to kill the players near them. Usually, there are two types of players in PUBG. Those who play safe, and those who play aggressive.
After players gather their resources and eliminate the nearest players. A huge circle appears on the map, which is where all players are required to move. Any players outside the huge white circle will be damaged. A Blue Zone starts to appear on the edge of the map which later interacts with the white map. Once it manages to interact with the white circle, a new circle is formed where players are required to move. Anyone who is outside of the main circle(white) keeps getting damaged.
Once the players gather in the newest circle, things become compact, and fights occur everywhere. Players pick their houses, landmarks, and plains. They try to survive the circle and move to the next one. Some players intend to fight others. The game continues, and circles keep getting narrower, players keep decreasing as circles close. When 90% of the server is dead, remaining players are left in a tiny circle. Note that anyone outside this circle won’t survive because the damage is really huge. There isn’t even time to heal outside of it. The remaining players kill each other, and the last one is declared the winner. He gets an exciting message on the screen that says “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”.
Gameplay
PUBG Features very realistic and unpredictable gameplay. The game was developed in Unreal Engine so the textures are really smooth. Players can lay in a cornfield, and nobody will be able to find them. Similarly, spotting players is really difficult, and you need to downgrade your graphics, so there are the least textures rendered. The game has various vehicles, and driving vehicles is a big no for me. It gets too much attention, and the vehicles are awful. They flip very easily, and the driving mechanics are unrealistic.
Moreover, there are times when you will be searching for players. This usually happens in the first two circles. The game has a nice inventory, and you can carry up to 2 guns, a pistol, and some utility. If you want to keep a lot of ammunition, medic equipment, and scopes. You will need to carry a backpack, which comes in various levels. The backpack capacity increases, as it levels up. Apart from that, the game has a lot of real-life inherited guns. The most popular ones include SLR, SKS, M4A4, M16, AKM, Kar98k, Tommy Gun, and many more.
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So you might be thinking, well this game is just a running simulator. You need to find enemies, and just keep going?. Well, that is not true. There are things like requesting air-drop. A plane drops you a rare gun with pieces of equipment. Similarly, PUBG features very realistic combat. The guns have a lot of power. You can shoot someone really far if you have a good scope. Headshots are really satisfying, and the guns are not easy to control. On PUBG PC, the recoil is really high. In order to reduce recoil, you will have to attach proper attachments. If you have played it CS:GO you will find the recoil pattern very similar. Once you start shooting, you will have to slide down your mouse. This keeps the aim steady in the middle.
PUBG has four maps, and all of them are different from each other. The classic Erangel has a very complicated and unpredictable topography. Similarly, the Sanhok is a total massacre and blood bath. The map is tiny, and fights within every minute are certain. Miramar is a huge desert map, that features a lot of open plains. Players are always exposed to enemies in Miramar. Karakin and Vikendi are the latest maps, both feature very similar playstyle. The main difference between both of them is that Vikendi features a snowy map, while the Kraken is a desert.
PUBG does not have characters or legends, all players are the same. The player is more like a soldier, who can run with high stamina, swim across rivers, and fight.
I personally find PUBG’s combat system and gameplay really unique. Its really simple, and anyone who tries the game gets attached to it. The game features a very simple playstyle, and everyone looks forward to getting good. When you play Darwin Project or Realm Royale. There is just so much to that games, that once you play it is. There are high chances you won’t be playing it back. What makes PUBG so different from other battle royale games is the realistic playstyle. Battle Royale is all about surviving and staying silent. However, all the new Battle Royale games feature high-intensity fights with no importance to positioning. There will be times, when a player in PUBG comes all the way to end, just by laying in fields or hiding behind a door. Often you will see players smashing into the middle junction of circles and camping till last.
PUBG Graphics
I’ll say PUBG Graphics have improved a lot. When it was first released in 2017, the beta graphics were horrible. It later got a major update, and they became decent. Moreover, the very recent graphics update has literally taken the game to a new level.
Lastly, Vehicles, Guns, and Buildings do not have a lot of details. That is understandable because nobody plays competitive games in ultra of high settings. Players focus on getting more FPS and better visuals. That can only happen when you lower down your settings.
PUBG Performance
PUBG Performance is hard to judge. There are times when your FPS is rocket high. This mostly happens, when players and gunshots are far away. However, when you are in a match with competitive players. FPS goes down really quickly. Players might have experienced this in Faceit and custom matchmakings. During Fights, FPS also drop. Moreover, if you drop in a saturated place, make sure your hardware is good. Saturated places in PUBG can really make your PC Struggle.
Critics
PUBG Corp needs to improve its level of optimization. I tried the competitive side of PUBG, which means I played Faceit. It was a horrible experience. Due to the nature of competitive players on Faceit. There are a lot of players in the later circles of Faceit. Hence, FPS Drops like crazy and fighting with low FPS on High Refresh Rate Monitor is very hard. I’ve played Fortnite with hundreds of players in a very close area (marshmallow event), and the game never lagged. I don’t think that would ever be possible on PUBG, because it runs on a very different formula.
PUBG Vehicles are another piece of junk. The vehicles feel really light, and there are times it flips awkwardly. I won’t say anything about the bike, because I think that is fantastic, only if you know your controls. The Boats in PUBG are also shaky, they accelerate a bit too much, and the handling is inconsistent. Moreover, I’d say PUBG has to improve its ANTI-Cheat. In CS:GO when someone is flying or doing blatant hacks, he is immediately kicked or banned because of anti-cheat detection.
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In PUBG, there are 90% chances that the hacker flying a car or killing everyone gets away with it. The anti-cheat is weak, and automatic bans do not happen. There is a forum for reporting players and in-game report options. Those are manually reviewed, hence the process of banning players is really slow. And my last complaint from PUBG would be the bugs. Yes, the game has an array of random bugs. Often your bike will start to fly in the air. Sometimes, picking up loot can be super sketchy. Parachuting in the third person is still buggy. Sometimes players are dropped from mid-air and die from fall damage. There are times when you will find no loot in a whole house. That has been reduced to some extent with recent increased loot updates. However, there are still a lot of problems.
is PUBG worth it in 2020?
I’ve collected a few factors that you should consider before purchasing purchasing PUBG.
Competitive Player, looking for ESports?
If you are a competitive player and looking to get fun, PUBG is for you. There is a huge Esports side to PUBG, and a lot of popular organizations like Liquid, Navi, and Faze have invested in it. The Esports side of PUBG has kept growing.
Looking for a realistic Battle Royale game?
PUBG might be the best Battle Royale game when it comes to being realistic. The game has does not have special classes, characters, or powers. PUBG Gameplay is really simple, and smart. You can hide behind a door, not make noise, and somehow make It to the end game. Similarly, you can try hiding in a shack, and no one will find you. Unlike Fortnite or Apex Legends, PUBG does not feature a super fantasized or futuristic world. It is a military-based game, and the equipment era is not like Call of Duty Warzone or Battlefield. Its more like the 90s or early 2000s, when there was not a lot of technology in the military.
Got friends? Third Person? Casual Game?
PUBG allows you to play with up to four players. So if you got some buddies and you are looking to play a casual game once in a week. PUBG might be suitable. The gameplay is versatile, so there are loads of options. However, if you are playing it once in a week I must say it won’t be easy to win games. Players have gotten really good at it, and fights are super competitive. Moreover, I’d recommend starting from the third person, because that is easy. You get the camera advantage, and better FOV (Field of View). Lastly, PUBG allows you to play in both first and third-person modes.
Conclusion
Well, there are no online games that are perfect. PUBG has problems, but on the other hand, it offers a super unique and incredible Battle Royale experience. The game has awesome communities on discord and Reddit. Streamers are really awesome. You can watch streamers like Chocotaco, Shroud, Jeemzz, Ibiza, FuzzFace, and a lot more. There is no level of getting better at PUBG. There are always ways you can lead your team, get better at aiming, and perhaps the smallest of things like driving or looting. I’ve played a lot of PUBG, and I keep coming back to it. I don’t know if it’s the Winner Winner Chicken Dinner message or the Kar98k Headshot from a mile away.
If you are looking for more Battle Royale games that are worth it in 2020. I’ll suggest you reading Top Ten Battle Royale Games in 2020.
