MeinMMO author Dariusz Müller is a big fan of PvP shooters, but he is dissatisfied with the current offerings on the gaming market. He finds the types of shooters that are currently the most popular to be rubbish.
I have three great passions in gaming: Pokémon, survival games, and shooters – particularly the latter with competitive thought and a PvP focus. It can definitely be fast-paced and action-packed, but I also enjoy tactical gameplay.
What I do not like to see, however, are new extraction shooters and battle royales. I have played various games from both subgenres and must honestly say that my enjoyment was mostly limited. I like neither the gameplay mechanics nor the way players act in both types of shooters.
The gaming industry loves battle royales and extraction shooters
The worst part is that I keep reading about these two categories in new game announcements. Just in 2022, Super People, a new battle royale, was released, followed by Farlight 84 in April 2023. Additionally, there are more extraction shooters in development, such as Hawked and Hyenas, and even The Division Heartland looks more like an EFT-like than a loot shooter.
Moreover, CoD MW2 and Battlefield 2042 are not as good as expected and were somewhat qualitatively disappointing, and Shatterline is too insignificant to present a long-term alternative. Additionally, arena shooters like Splitgate or Halo Infinite have virtually no players left (via SteamCharts). It seems as if battle royales and EFT-likes are the only types of shooters that are currently successful.
My hope for the near future lies with Ubisoft’s CoD competitor XDefiant, but even here, the beta had massive technical issues and insufficient server stability. This needs to improve significantly by the release.
I want fair duels and not a comparison of who has better equipment
In every battle royale or extraction shooter, there comes a point for me where I do not want to continue playing due to lack of fun. This point was often reached when I increasingly lost confrontations because the opponent had significantly better equipment.
This can depend on luck in a battle royale and on playtime in an extraction shooter like Escape from Tarkov. I dislike both.
A gunfight can be noticeably more difficult for me when my opponent is better equipped, and I deal significantly less damage with my weapon or the type of ammunition used, even though I have the better aim and movement.
I want fair gunfights and not a battle over who had more time to play in the current wipe. I play various games and, for instance, will complete the current titan raid in Pokémon as soon as the article is finished and my workday is over.
After that, I might want to play Witcher 3 again, unlock the new supporter in Overwatch 2, and finally spend some time in New World.
For me, a shooter is ideal when my opponent and I meet under as equal conditions as possible, we deliver a fair fight, and in the end, the one who was better stands – spoiler: In CS:GO or Valorant, it is usually the others.
In contrast to extraction shooters, battle royales have the advantage that everyone starts with the same equipment. However, I always seem to have the luck of finding comparatively poor weapons for a long time, while my opponent shows up with the current meta weapons.
And I am simply not the type of player to run away in a zigzag and hide somewhere in such situations. I want the gunfight and then end up in the gulag – suboptimal.
Not everything that stinks is rubbish
Despite my criticism, not all games that fall into the two shooter categories are bad. Some titles are really well executed and extremely popular among many players, even if I find them to be rubbish.
There are even some titles that I at least enjoyed playing for a short time. The DMZ mode of Warzone 2 was quite fun for me, even though it is an extraction shooter. The Cycle Frontier or Hunt: Showdown also have aspects that I can praise.
Nevertheless, I personally just don’t enjoy battle royales and extraction shooters and would wish that not all developers would rush to the two subgenres and want to create their own version of the same gameplay mechanics.
An exception in the gaming market is the arena shooter “The Finals” by Embark Studios. MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider has summarized for you how The Finals plays.
