The battle royale shooter PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has been a huge success on Steam for weeks. It’s about time we took a look at the game. Jürgen volunteered and had to die often to deliver the following lines.
It doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to be dropped unarmed on an island full of weapons with 99 psychopaths and be the only one who is supposed to survive. Especially when tons of other players have picked the same starting spot and have already scavenged all the weapons.
And when one of those nice players encounters you with a gun and you can only shake your fist in anger, the fun is over quicker than you can say “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds”.
But I had literally tasted blood and so I had to start a new round of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – “Damn, why is single fire set?!”
In my second round, I had more success and survived. 23 players were not so lucky. I even found a thick Kalashnikov in an old Soviet military base, but to my dismay, it was set to single fire and I didn’t know how to switch it to full auto.
So when I made contact with another player, disaster struck. I caught the guy off guard, aimed roughly, and held down the fire button. One shot fired, that was it. The startled enemy turned around and started shooting. Before I figured out how to shoot properly with the AK, I was already Swiss cheese, but at least I ranked 77.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – Death lurks everywhere!
Round 3 didn’t go much better. This time I had wisely checked how to switch fire modes and how to aim with scopes. It’s – at least for me – anything but clear that you have to click the left mouse button twice!
But back to the game. I found another AK and went hunting. There was already an enemy who just unsuspectingly disappeared into a building! I’ll take him! Shortly thereafter, it went “Bang” and I was dead because some monkey shot me from ambush. But I had already ranked 66, yeah!
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – My girlfriend killed me!
New round, new luck. In a village at the beginning of the game, I found a lot of cool stuff, various weapons, a red dot sight, and even the cool black coat from the promo screenshots. Total badass!
I cautiously sneaked through the alleys and jumped in fright because the thunderclap of the ongoing thunderstorm sounded like a shot.
But all the caution didn’t help against sabotage from outside. Just as I was looking around on a rooftop, my girlfriend came into the room and wanted something. I was only briefly distracted, and then someone shot me! Round over, coat gone, but at least ranked 49!
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – First Blood in Round 5
I had already played four rounds and hadn’t gotten a single kill. But that would soon change because in round 5, I landed at the start in an apartment block where a fully automatic shotgun was lying. I loaded it and went hunting. And there it was, my first victim! He only had a lousy pistol and was hiding behind a broken wall. I flanked the enemy and gave him a couple with the shotgun.
The enemy was finished and I got my first kill! Encouraged by this first success, I continued wandering around and suddenly found myself in a “red zone”. I noticed it because suddenly grenades were falling around me and I was running for my life between the explosions like in a Michael Bay movie!
I had one kill; I couldn’t die from a random event now! As soon as I escaped the death zone and the constantly approaching force field, a panicked player drove past me in a jeep.
I shot like crazy and the enemy drove recklessly into the nearby river. He tried to save himself by swimming, I shot like crazy. But due to the occasional lag, I hit nothing and the guy swam away from me.
On the other side, he started shooting again, but I had no more ammunition for my assault rifle and the shotgun didn’t have enough range. I tried it with the pistol, but the opponent had a rifle and shot me! But at least I ranked 50 and got my first kill!
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – From victim to killer
Finally, I got a kill and could finally afford a loot box with the in-game money I collected. There was nothing decent in it, but it didn’t matter. The reward effect is what counts!
But I was rewarded even more in the following rounds. While I didn’t always get a kill, I consistently got quite far and had a lot of fun and excitement. The longer a game lasts, the more dangerous it becomes. The play area becomes smaller, enemies appear more concentrated, and someone could be lurking around every corner.
But I was no longer a scared little victim flinching at every thunderclap and wandering around in the starting zone like a frightened chicken. I still wasn’t a veteran, but I had made my first experiences and was familiar enough with the game. So my tenth and last round of the evening was also my best: I managed to get two kills and made it into the last eight players!
Unfortunately, in the end, I was a bit too slow and was pressed so hard by the force field that I had to cross an open field. On the other end, however, someone was already camping and I was shot down without a chance. But I have literally tasted blood and will soon book another flight to the nameless battle royale island.
Jürgen’s conclusion: I didn’t think that I would have so much fun with PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds! The game is somewhat off-putting with its rather dull graphics and the numerous bugs and lag issues still present. But even in this unfinished state, it’s a blast and hard to stop playing.
If you die quickly, there’s still time for a new round. And if you make it to the end, you’ll be so full of adrenaline that you’ll want to keep going. A really successful game concept. Now I just hope that Bluehole quickly develops and improves the game. Those many lags are really annoying.
Also interesting: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – The desert map and the mysterious bicycle
