Okay, so I'm gonna start this review off by saying that I'm not a fan of the Battle Royale genre at all or even online multiplayer games period for that matter. But I hate Battle Royale games with a burning passion because they have such an absurd disconnect with fun, even when played with friends. And seriously, what game virtual or otherwise isn't fun when playing with friends? Matches in Fortnite, H1Z1, and this game as well all go one of two ways rarely with an in between. I drop in, loot up for five minutes, and don't come across a single soul the entire match and get killed by some guy miles away, or I drop in an area with a bunch of other people, can't find a weapon, and am killed immediately and shipped straight back to the lobby where it'll take just over five minutes to get another match in full swing. And when you get a match that's an exception to those two categories, it'll be one the most unbalanced and luck based multiplayer gaming experience you've had in your lifetime. Seriously the rng in the Battle Royale genre is ridiculous, these games are like 25% skill and strategy and 75% luck and sheer odds. And for that matter, why in the nine realms do these games have no form of matchmaking? There are no consistent factors in any battle royale game you play other than the map you play on, the ring movement is completely random and the loot spawns are completely random. When you press triangle on your controller to start up a match, you have just entered the lottery. It really seems like being in the right spot at the right time and getting good loot all by sheer luck matters more than being skilled at the game. And it's all made worse by the fact that the companies running these games care more about keeping their player count up to sell more cosmetic items to stupid little kids than actually attending to their games various issues.
Now with my complaints about the genre out of the way, When this was announced I was disappointed to see Titanfall 3 be put on hold for this game but I was anticipating what Respawn Entertainment would do with Apex legends to spice things up or potentially cut down on the RNG a bit. And to start with the positives I can confidently say that I get the most consistent enjoyment out of this game than any other Battle Royale to date. And this game does fell a bit more skill based than Fortnite with a better shooting model, and a gimmick that doesn't entirely embrace the RNG and make it worse as well as having a reduced player count. And Apex, unlike PUBG, is bright and colorful like Fortnite instead of being a disgusting mix of puke greens and browns, and it runs much smoother than most of its competition so I'll give it that, but you know a genre is bad when a game running properly and looking good feels more like a luxury rather than a standard expectation. Apex Legends' gimmick that separates it from the crowd is having squad oriented gameplay with playable characters each equipped with their own unique set of special abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. I can't comment on how many of these Legends Respawn plans on adding in the future but the current roster is pretty balanced with Mirage and Caustic being an exception as they do feel a bit underpowered than the rest. Now I have to speak on a huge issue I have with this game and its the game's lack of support. I think I represent everyone when I say that squads cannot be the only game mode in Apex Legends forever, in its current state the game severely lacks variety. The addition of solo would be greatly appreciated because not everyone wants to play squads 24/7 or has the friends to play squads all the time. And let's be real nobody likes to play with randoms even with the addition of the new ping mechanic. Its almost as if Respawn Entertainment completely forgot this game's existence as soon as it lost is throne at the top of Twitch. It hardly ever gets updated and when it does it's just useless trash that in no way improves the game. Which is unfortunate because pinging isn't the only new mechanic Apex Legends brings to the table, there's also a new ability to retrieve a teammates dog tag and revive them at various stations around the map which is good considering how often you die from the dumbest things in Battle Royale games. These are positive changes that need to continuously built upon but I suppose that even if they did build on some of those positive changes to the formula Apex Legends still wouldn't be good in the slightest as it does fall victim to the shortcomings of the genre. It's all there, the RNG, the formulaic matches, it's repetitive, it's boring, and offers no substance or competitive nature due to its inconsistency. Whether you win or lose a firefight can entirely depend on the armor and weapons you find as opposed to just being skilled. It's better but it's not good, in fact, it's pretty terrible. I'll never understand why people play these games when literally every other game blows them out of the water. I'm certain without a doubt that nobody will ever make a quality game in this stupid genre and I can't wait for it to die out so devs can get back to making actual worthwhile video games instead of bandwagon cash grabs. So I'd advise that you don't play Battle Royale games at all but if you really have to see what all the hype is about this one is probably your best option, especially considering its free.