The best free "Battle Royale"

We know from experience how hard it is to come up with something new. That's why there are not many types of multiplayer in shooters: for a long time "deathmatch" with "Capture the Flag" ruled the ball, then several more competitions appeared, including, of course, "Battle Royale". Its popularity grew unusually fast after the release of PUBG, but not half a year later, in the summer of 2017, Brendan Green's game was competed by Fortnite.

So began the excitement, which has not subsided to this day, because such action games are released all the time. Which may seem surprising, given the strictness of the rules. A group of heroes lands on the map to collect supplies and fight among themselves on a gradually narrowing battlefield to the last survivor - it would seem that you can improve here? It turns out that you can, and how. Today we will talk about the best representatives of the genre, in which to have fun for free.

Let's start with the game that laid the foundation for Battle Royale. The self-taught Brendan Green started with a modification for the military shooter Arma 2, where he first created the Battle Royale mode. Then he decided to release a separate shooter based on this mode - that's how the famous PUBG appeared. And what is this project famous for? There Green had two important ideas that influenced the destiny of the genre. First, he invented a gradual narrowing of the battlefield, so that the matches don't drag on and don't bore the participants. The fewer survivors remain in the location, the tighter they are pressed against each other - and the fight does not slow down. Secondly, the author of PUBG was the first to suggest landing fighters from the air, so that everyone could choose a place to start in advance.

A successful opening sets the tone for the entire match. You can land in a busy area with lots of weapons, equipment, and consumables. But others will want to get here along with you, so the adventure risks being cut short at the very beginning. Or, as an option, start from the deserted outskirts so that no one gets in the way of collecting supplies. It's nuances like this that make the game interesting. Add a huge map, a rich arsenal, different types of vehicles and a hundred enemies that will certainly want to get rid of your hero. However, no one is forced to fight alone, because there are duet and squad modes - you can act with partners. In the winter of 2022 PUBG: Battlegrounds game became conditionally free of charge, so anyone can join the classics.

Today the game has become a cultural phenomenon: hundreds of millions of people, including show business stars, have fun with it. It is all the more surprising that originally it did not contain any "battle royale" in itself. The Epic Games studio employees simply combined gunfights, construction and a fun cartoon style in one action game. But at some point PUBG became too popular to ignore - and then Fortnite added a Battle Royale mode that changed everything. In fact, combined with other options, including the creation of fortifications on the go and the level builder, the "battle royale" played with new colors. And the audience, as usual, was divided into two camps: some like the seriousness of PUBG, and others like the motleyness of Fortnite.

Don't forget about the plot, thematic seasons, and the mountain of fanservice that Epic Games' competitors lack. Then Heralt from Rivia, Optimus Prime from Transformers, Halloween costumes, and dinosaurs' ride through the jungle will come to mind. In the world of the game is constantly happening something, and if the events are not enough, you can distract yourself with additional activities - for example, to go fishing or build a fortress, as in Minecraft. The skill of creating walls with ladders also comes in handy in the "battle royale", when you have to quickly swap a pickaxe for a machine gun and back. In another shooter, matchmakers look for passageways, elevations and shelters on the map, but in Fortnite you cut through doors, build towers and fences yourself. It's true what they say: all brilliant things are simple.

If we're talking about genius and simplicity, we can't ignore another game experiment - Stumble Guys. Unlike the previous action games in the selection, here you don't have to shoot anyone. 32 rivals compete with each other in another way - they overcome the obstacles on the track: they jump on the roofs of cars or ride in them on winding tracks, roll down steep slides, maneuver in mazes, dodge pendulums and boulders, push each other - in a word, have a lot of fun. Whoever gets to the finish line first wins.

For a change there is a system of destruction and physical model, making the fall of the characters particularly hilarious. The situation is just like with Mario Kart: racing does not look serious, but requires a very serious skill. Strictly speaking, it's a clone of Fall Guys, only available on Steam and offering cartoon characters instead of human-shaped beans. But since we've already discussed one game from Epic Games (and that company is responsible for Fall Guys), for a change we'd like to mention the work of independent studio Scopely. No money is charged for it either.

Looking at PUBG and Fortnite, it's hard to imagine anyone being able to thoroughly rethink the classic "battle royale" formula. However, Respawn Entertainment has succeeded. The developers came up with a sci-fi universe where mercenaries put on a show, fighting to the death for honor and money, made compact and multi-level maps for dynamic battles, and most importantly - added unique characters. Bloodhound, for example, temporarily illuminates enemies behind cover, Gibraltar uses a protective dome and missile strike, and Bangalore feints with smoke screens and acceleration. And there are dozens of these fighters in the game. Although not all of them are available to a beginner, you can still choose the one you like.

In addition, Apex Legends is focused on team play. There are modes for duos and trios, and you can stay single only if the enemies killed your partners. The squad reveals and supplements each other, so solo player is not the strongest in the field. Well, unless you have a lot of experience in "battle royale". What else the action movie picks up, it's the dynamism. Maps, as already mentioned, are small, but with a lot of loopholes, passages and bridges. You can use the elements of parkour. So all 60 participants in the match arrange a real massacre, where only the most apt and clever survive.

Fashion could not avoid the popular series Call of Duty. With a huge budget and limitless possibilities, the developers decided not to re-invent the wheel - and did everything by the proven methods. You have a huge map, a standard character without any trump cards up your sleeve and a crowd of enemies jumping with you onto the terrain from a plane. The rest is classic: you collect weapons, ammo, cannon dodgers, first-aid kits, stimulants and armor plates. But there are a few nuances. There are game dollars hidden in different parts of the location - by accumulating them you can launch a UAV, cause a bombardment, buy more supplies, or return fallen teammates to the battlefield.

The victim is able to return, and himself, if he comes out the winner of the battle in this hell - the Gulag. And to re-equip will help different tasks, scattered across the map. There will bring some valuable items in a box with contraband, here - a quest that makes the character the number one target and marks it on the map. A hunt begins, the survival of which brings a generous prize. These additional tasks are placed all over the map, so Warzone is sure not to get bored. And it is decorated with the scope inherent in Call of Duty - with gorgeous scenery, pleasant shooting and a choice of military vehicles from motorcycles to helicopters. On the other hand, unlike the other releases in the series, you don't have to pay for this one.

If the authors of Apex Legends added unique characters to the "battle royale", the developers of Farlight 84 went even further - gave the heroes superpowers. In fact, the idea is not new - it flirted with it in the studio Wonder Games when creating the action movie Super People. But that project stalled, and new entertainment came to replace it. The events of Farlight 84 are set in 2084 after the end of the world. With the help of mutations and technology the survived people learned how to bypass the laws of nature, but the peace did not prevail on Earth. All disputes are still resolved with weapons.

In the ruins of civilization you can act in one of 14 roles, each of which is associated with a particular gift. One character makes himself and his friends invisible for a while, another keeps robots under his control, the third heals without medication - all have a couple or three surprises just in case. The tactical set is complemented by vehicles carrying weapons on board, from rockets to flamethrowers. This is not just a buggy found in Pochinki, but a full-fledged aid in combat. Jetpacks also add mobility, helping to scout the area or launch a surprise attack. Farlight 84 is available for free, but if you want to create a unique appearance for your hero, no one stops you from investing some money.

It would seem that how else could the genre be refreshed? In the spring of 2022, Sharkmob offered its own version. In its "battle royale" battle not people, but vampires, and the action takes place in the streets of Prague, where there is complete freedom of movement vertically. If in Apex Legends you can get hooked on a ledge with a cat hook or scramble up a one-storey building after a jump, here you can run along walls in any direction, fall from any height and jump on the roofs of buildings. And although fans of the "World of Darkness" universe received the project with hostility, in the originality of it can not be denied.

You can choose not just unique characters, but representatives of different clans of bloodsuckers: there is a Gromila and Vandal from Bruch, Tempter and Muse from Toreador, Saboteur and Weasel from Nosferatu, and Peacemaker from Ventrue. And all, of course, have some exclusive tricks - while one stops bullets with an acoustic wave, the other slows down enemies or heals with other people's blood. You can also replenish life by killing random passers-by, but this procedure makes the hero defenseless for a while. In addition, all the hellhounds are pursued by vampire hunting squads as they develop. There are plenty of other nuances as well. Here, for example, there are no parachute jumps - at the beginning of the match you just choose the point on the map where you want to appear. And the tapering combat circle is made in the form of clouds of poison gas.

Let's lighten up the midnight gloom with something light and fun - that's exactly what we can call the conditional free-to-play multiplayer game Super Animal Royale. It looks uncomplicated, like a children's cartoon about animals, and the graphics are two-dimensional instead of 3D. The originality lies in the fact that the battlefield gamers observe from the top, not from the first or third person. This perspective allows you to notice more details, to better plan the maneuver and come out of a difficult situation intact.

And everything is traditional: 64 participants of the match, one by one or in squads, land in an abandoned safari park to clarify relations with claws, fangs and weapons. Hidden on the map are armor items, supplies, and enhancements that allow you to inflict more damage on your opponents, ride an emu, or defend yourself with a hamster ball, for example. It is noteworthy that the park is not only inhabited by combat animals, but also peaceful - you can communicate with them. By winning the "battle royale", you collect resources and expand the zoo available to you, changing the appearance of the animals and discovering new species.

This action game is causing a lot of controversy. Some users consider it a pathetic parody of PUBG, while others note that Ring of Elysium is superior to Green's creation in a number of aspects. Let's start with the fact that the developers have done a little crafting on the combat conditions. It's not just a survival game or an obstacle race, but an evacuation from a nuclear blast zone. While the timer ticks, you have to decide on the mode of transportation (take a hook-cat, bike or glider), find a weapon, and then move to the point where the helicopter will pick you up. But there aren't many places on board, so it's man to man on the way to the rescue.

Modifications are available not only for guns, but also for vehicles, as in Farlight 84. You can make one vehicle invisible, put a machine gun on the other, and from the third is allowed to throw barrels of combustible mixture. It's nice when the developers turn the vehicle into a full-fledged combat mechanism. Another detail - the weather conditions that affect the tactics. On the other hand, if you compare with the same PUBG, people on the server is less - there is a limit of 60 connections. Yes, and find them now is not easy - the project has been experiencing bad times recently, although it still remains free.

The game started as a joke, and its name was different - Cuisine Royale. The employees of the Darkflow studio decided to make a parody on PUBG where the heroes are dressed in tactical shorts and use store bags instead of backpacks, and pots, colanders, waffle pots and other kitchen utensils instead of armor. And everything happens, judging by the entourage and car models, in the middle of XX century. To make the character jump higher, you have to put him in bunny slippers, and to fix his health it is enough to smoke a cigar. Whoever is seriously concerned with the treatment of wounds, drags a dropper everywhere. It looks like a lot of fun - and that's why it's still in demand.

Over time, the action thriller has acquired a large number of the most unexpected mechanics. For example, no one prevents you from sending a horde of zombies or showering your enemies with meteorites. For such tricks are responsible rituals - spells, to activate which it is necessary to collect the souls of dead enemies. In addition, among the characters appeared the gods from myths - for example, the Scandinavian Thor. But it does not come to a crazy farce, because the game keeps to the traditions of the "Battle Royale". Here you'll find a landing on the map, a tapering circle, and a fight to the last man.

As you can see, even in a genre with clear rules can come up with a lot of new and interesting - if only for the desire. And you and I from such a choice only better, especially if the fun is available for free.