H1Z1 has made its way from Early Access to full fledged release. Read on to see what we thought.
Daybreak Studios’ H1Z1 has come a long way during a lengthy early access period, and now the launch version is ready to rumble in the battle royale arena. So how does it stack up? By offering some new modes to shake up the template, H1Z1 is a nice offering to have alongside your other battle royale choices in a genre that is sure to see many titles this year and next.
The concept is one that many players are well aware of at this point, with the battle royale genre becoming the next MOBA or MMORPG - the flavor of the moment genre everyone wants a piece of. The frantic scramble to be the first to get a weapon, gearing up across the ever-shrinking map, and the feeling of tension when you’re just one of few players left is hard to beat. It’s engaging, it’s fun,and it’s fast as hell. Whether you make it to the final battle or you’re gunned down unceremoniously in a game’s opening moments, the next match is only mere moments away.
H1Z1 attempts to differentiate itself from other battle royales with two key game modes. The first is the combat zone, which eliminates the “one life” design and lets players respawn over and over, armed and ready for instant action. While it’s more of a practice mode since you’re not playing for keeps, it is an excellent way for those looking to get into the genre to get some actual gameplay in before getting into the “real” game. Knowing how a certain weapon fires, reload times, and all these other elements are great to have in your wheelhouse before stepping into the core game, and combat zone facilitates that for players both novice and veteran.
Auto Royale is a car-based game mode where teams are locked into their vehicles for the entire duration of a match player acting as driver and teammates rattling off gunfire out of the windows, it’s a welcome break from standard solo and group play. With all kinds of car specific things like nitro boosts, jump points, repair kits, and land mines, the mode is refreshing once in a while, but feels like it falls short of being the defining alternate gameplay mode that it’s attempting to be.
The world of battle royales is only going to get more competitors. H1Z1 is going to need to add more if it wants to remain competitive in the ocean of choices, but for now it’s a good choice for those looking to survive against the odds.
Score: 8 out of 10
Reviewed for PC
Reviewed for PC