In March 2025, a new shooter called FragPunk was released. MyMMO editor Dariusz Müller gives you 4 reasons why you should try the game yourself.
What kind of game is FragPunk?
- FragPunk is a hero shooter where teams can choose game cards at the beginning of a round. These game cards have various effects. For example, they can change the weather, give your opponents larger heads, or block the healing of enemies.
- Games are played 5v5, and the attacking team must plant a type of bomb at one of 2 spots (A or B). The defenders must prevent this. There is no respawn.
- The heroes all have different abilities, including a sonar scan, a smoke wall, or healing mushrooms.
- The weapons are independent of the heroes, but if you lose a weapon due to death, you can no longer select it specifically. However, there is the option to receive a random weapon from a machine.
- In the event of a tie, the teams face off in 1v1 duels.
1. Game cards provide a unique gameplay twist
With the game cards you choose at the start of each round, the course of the round inevitably changes. This means: If you are the attacking team, you cannot try to take the A spot in the same way every time. The gameplay conditions are always different.
This sets FragPunk apart from tactical shooters like Valorant and CS2. There, especially at the highest levels, teams have rehearsed tactics and procedures that they can play in a fixed manner each round. There is no random factor like game cards that create special effects that teams must adapt to during the match.
2. Fun even if you’re not a hardcore player
FragPunk has the potential to be fun even if you are not extremely competitive and want to sweat through every match. The effects introduce a fun component to the otherwise competitive gameplay of tactical shooters – at least if you are still new to the game.
The game cards encourage you to play unconventional “tactics”. For example, you can attach a turtle to your back that protects you from shots from behind. And yes, I’ve seen players run backwards onto a spot because of this.
The speed of the game, especially during gunfights, also adds to the entertainment of FragPunk.
3. FragPunk is competitive but faster than the competition
Games like Valorant and CS2 play fundamentally differently than shooters like Call of Duty, Battlefield, or The Finals. The gameplay is much more thoughtful. You can’t sprint properly, run back and forth a lot while shooting or even jump.
In FragPunk, you can do that. So if you find CS2 and Valorant too slow and miss bunny hopping, you might enjoy FragPunk more. There are also game cards and abilities that make you faster or allow you to jump higher.
4. The duel feature is an enrichment because it replaces the boring extension
In many competitive games, the same thing happens in the event of a draw: there is overtime. In overtime, a certain number of rounds are played again until a winner is determined. The teams switch roles between attacker and defender.
In FragPunk, teams face off in 1v1 duels in the event of a tie. First, like in a penalty shootout, you have to determine the order and choose your weapons and heroes. Then the duels start on small maps that are equally designed for both sides. The winner of a 1v1 duel plays another round but retains the damage taken.
Several aspects of the duel feature are really cool. On one hand, it’s just something new and not the boring overtime again. On the other hand, you can really root for your teammates because you can watch while they compete in their duel.
In addition, you have the opportunity in the duel to make something happen for your team, even if things hadn’t gone well for you before. For example, I played a bad match and took a lot of hits. In overtime, I then took the fifth spot. My teammates lost their duels, but I successfully won several duels in a row and decided the match for us. This way, you can still go into the next game with a good feeling.
Another tactical shooter: If you enjoy tactical shooters, you might also like Spectre Divide. I am also a fan of the gameplay after the full release, even though the game unfortunately couldn’t convince many players on Steam: Spectre Divide was already the best PvP shooter of 2024 in beta – that’s why the new game is so much fun
