The full-motion video (FMV) genre has a tumultuous history, and it was never certain that it would survive its earliest iterations. While film and gaming are both beloved, their meeting point in FMV is often regarded as a misuse of the best qualities of both.
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Yet the success ofBloodshoreand other recent titles show that the genre is anything but dead. Whether one lovesBloodshorefor its game show premise, its gore, its gunplay, or its over-the-top characters, there is a battle royale (BR) game out there to suit one’s tastes.Bloodshoremay not have a game of its own, but its DNA can be found in some of the genre’s best and most interesting titles.
10Call of Duty: Warzone
At its most basic,Bloodshoreis about hunting and being hunted by strangers, andCall of Duty: Warzoneis one of the most popular embodiments of that core concept.Call of Duty: Warzonemay emphasize vehicle usage and map traversal in ways thatBloodshoredoes not, but the characters in both requirelethal and dependable weaponryto escape death.
The largely generic G.I.s ofCall of Duty: Warzonemay not have the personality to match Nick and the gang. However, the title has no shortage of entertaining munitions to keep players entertained as they fight for their lives.
9Cuisine Royale
There are legitimatepros and cons to every battle royale. Whether someone wants zany antics or a hardcore mil-sim experience, there’s a place for every gamer.Cuisine Royaleoffers something of each. It sets itself apart by featuring WWII equipment and intense gunplay alongside the mystic powers and cooking pots worn as armor.
Cuisine Royalethis love of juxtaposition withBloodshore: the violent and the colorful blend into one another to make a BR experience unlike any other. The game might consider itself a joke, but the gunplay and action are nothing but serious.
8H1Z1
Bloodshorewouldn’t exist withoutH1Z1,nor would any battle royale. As an evolution ofArmaandDayZ,H1Z1pioneered the concepts upon which everyother great BRwas built. It isn’t flashy or pretentious; it’s a solid, exciting shooter.
WhileH1Z1deserves a look for its influence on the genre as a whole, it also stands on its own as a strong gameplay experience. Those looking for a stripped-down BR experience will find it here, andH1Z1is an accessible entry point for the genre as a whole. As it shirks the nitty-gritty micromanagement of detailed gun-modding and the over-the-top unpredictability of instant sky towers,H1Z1is a solid middle-lane shooter with which to kill some hours.
7Hunt: Showdown
Afantastic first-person shooterand innovative battle royale,Hunt: Showdowneschews modern and futuristic warfare in favor of something grounded in early American history, albeit a history twisted by the presence of the supernatural. In this weird western, players compete with other bounty hunters to kill a supernatural beast and escape before their rivals strike them down and steal their prize.
Audio is an integral part of survival in this game, with every crunch of a boot on broken glass betraying one’s position. LikeBloodshore,the world ofHunt: Showdownis ruthless, and both games do their best to innovate and expand the battle royale genre.
6Fortnite
The nameFortniteis inescapable in the battle royale scene. Its in-game concerts, wild skins, unique building mechanics, and free-to-play status make it one of thebest battle royales for beginners.
WhatFortnitecontains more than anything else is personality. Whether riding atop a flying saucer, battling dinosaurs as Batman, or flying a witch’s broom into battle against Rick and Morty,Fortniteoverflows with opportunities for shenanigans. Its cartoonish, kiddish aesthetic might be quite the departure fromBloodshore’sblood and gore, but the sharp contrasts between its characters put it in line.
5Crab Game
Based on the wildly popular TV showSquid Game,Crab Gameis a unique battle royale in which competitors try to survive a series of brutal minigames — and the losers explode. Given the game’s unforgiving ragdoll physics and general wonkiness, it’s common to see three-quarters of the field perish during Red Light Green Light in the first two minutes.
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The simple visuals and single character model can trick players into thinking the game will be easy or has no depth, but neither is the case. Best played with as many friends as one can herd together for an evening of friendly heckling and victorious cackling,Crab Gameis about brutal deaths in a surrealist, gameshow atmosphere. Of all existing battle royales,Crab Gamemay offer the closest thing to a spectator sport, playing out like the nerve-wracking TV show that inspired it.
4Apex Legends
Top-notch gunplay, silky movement mechanics, and large, diverse maps with killer verticality are all major selling points forApex Legends.Without its titular Legends, however, it’s unlikely the game would ever have reached its overwhelming popularity.
Buildingunique team compositionsthat play to each character’s strength, be that tracking, teleportation, or dropping lethal gas traps, setsApex Legendsapart. Other battle royale games have included characters with unique powers to trounce the competition, but arguably none have done it better thanApex.There’s a reason that even after getting shotgunned 30 seconds after landing, players keep coming back.
3Escape From Tarkov
Some battle royales are light-hearted and welcoming, so that before too long, even casual gamers can find a second home there. NotEscape from Tarkov.This hardcore military simulation is punishing in every way. It demands patience, vigilance, a keen eye and a keener ear, and the willingness to get sniped a hundred times by an unseen scavenger before learning the maps.
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Yet for many players, the game’s draw is undeniable. Its fastidious inventory management borders onTetris,and its gun-modding is peerless. Its raids are nerve-destroying stealth missions, punctuated by gunfights fast and electric enough to shame lightning. No matter how much its players suffer or how many roubles they lose, many will always return.
2PUBG: Battlegrounds
More than almost any other battle royale,PUBG: Battlegroundsforgoes elaborate additional systems in favor of honing the core mechanics that make anybattle royale great:gunplay, scavaging, and tactical supremacy.
With its hardboiled realism benefiting in every way from the lessons learned byH1Z1developer Brendan Greene,PUBG: Battlegroundshas a grittiness that would be at home in the split-second violent world ofBloodshore.It may forgo innovation in other areas, but by doubling down on the essentials,PUBG: Battlegroundsachieves a kind of battle royale purity that elevates it to the genre’s highest tier.
1Scum
InScum,as inBloodshore,criminals are dropped on an island to battle to the death in the name of television glory. Both games are eccentric, violent, and have a player-base with very specific expectations and demands. Yet in the battle royale space, there’s nothing else quite likeScum.
Forget mere hunger as a survival mechanic. InScum,players must balance their vitamin and nutrient intake, or they die. A shirt can be shredded into rags and crafted into a rope. Loot appears where it logically should, not dumped at random in the middle of the floor.Scumis a prickly game that isn’t for everyone, but in its own way so isBloodshore.And that hasn’t stopped either from developing their own adoring communities.
