Though it looks like a typical shooter, "Battlegrounds" is anything but.
Before we go any further, allow me to explain the ridiculous name:
-The game's creative director is known for creating "Battle Royale"-style games — massive online games where players fight to the death with limited weapons.
-His name is Brendan Greene, but his online handle is "PlayerUnknown."
-Thus, the game's really just called "Battlegrounds." The full name is technically "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," but that's kinda like calling "Jurassic Park," "Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park."
Every game starts the same way: You're in a plane with around 100 other actual human beings. It's the most depressing plane ride I've ever seen.
The plane is a visual representation of an online lobby, essentially, but it serves another purpose: You choose when to exit the plane. And that choice is important, because the next step is parachuting down to a massive, deserted island.
As you parachute down, you'll see other players parachuting down as well. This is where the game starts — floating down to your almost-certain death, eyeballing other players. Since every player starts with nothing other than the clothes on their back and two fists, the first 10 minutes of every match is a scramble for weapons, armor, vehicles, and security.
This is what any given part of the massive map looks like. There are roads, and abandoned buildings, and the vacated island is rife with weaponry.
As you land on the island, your first move is almost certainly indoors. You could bumrush other players who land near you in an attempt to punch them to death, but you probably shouldn't.
Instead, you will almost certainly go looking for supplies — and supplies are found indoors. This concept of looting for resources is a panic-inducing moment right off the bat.
Let's say another player lands near you in a small town. Here's how that might play out:
-You both land around the same time, see each other, and head off toward separate buildings.
-Maybe your building has a good weapon, or maybe it has a police vest (protection). Maybe it has nothing.
-But what about that other player? You've lost them, and they could have a killer weapon. Do you head out to another nearby building, hoping that they aren't in the same one? Do you wait near a window, keeping an eye on the building they're in, waiting for them to leave? Do you take off running toward another nearby town, hoping for better supplies?
This is the central tension of "Battlegrounds," and it starts immediately.
Unlike most shooters, "Battlegrounds" gives players very limited health and ammunition. As a result, each bullet matters far more.
After getting a weapon, maybe some protection, and perhaps a sweet shirt, what's next? That's up to you.
There is one major restriction, and it's central to how "Battlegrounds" works. Though the island is massive, it immediately begins shrinking after you land. Not literally, but your map shows a massive white circle. If you're not within that circle at any given time, you're likely to die from bombing.
That's how "Battlegrounds" forces players together on a massive, deserted island — you must keep moving toward the ever-shrinking circle of space on the map, or you'll be killed by the game itself.
This does two important things:
-It keeps players from sitting in buildings waiting for action, instead forcing them to confront each other.
-It gives players an objective other than "survive."
There's a constant feeling of "I have to keep moving" at the heart of "Battlegrounds," and it exists alongside your instinct to survive (which screams, "Stay in place! Watch your back!").
Much of the fighting takes place in close quarters, suddenly, as you're seeking out better and better weapons.
Even with 100 people — actual human players — combat is sparse. You're far more likely to see someone in the distance and take careful aim from a well-hidden perch. And you'd better not miss, as every bullet fired is a massive red flag to any other players in the area. You'd also better not miss because, chances are, you only have a handful of bullets for whatever weapon you're firing.
As a result of this restraint, each interaction with another player has far more weight than something like "Call of Duty." Your instinct says to fire no matter what — this is essentially a free-for-all "deathmatch" game — but "Battlegrounds" forces you to play more thoughtfully than that. Oftentimes, your best response is to let other players kill each other before you step in and wipe up any remaining players after their fight.
Though "Battlegrounds" uses the classic "deathmatch" concept as its base, it twists expectations in a few crucial ways:
-Deathmatch usually has 32 players, tops. "Battlegrounds" pits 100 players against each other.
-Since ammunition is limited, and each shot could alert other players, shooting isn't always the best choice.
-You only have one life; when you die, you're done. So playing carefully is crucial if you want to be the last remaining player of 100.
It's crucial that you stay on your toes constantly in "Battlegrounds." Any misstep means your death, and thusly the end of a match (for you, that is).
What you see above is a mistake, though it's a mistake you'll often have to make while playing "Battlegrounds." Due to the ever-shrinking circle of playable map, you're constantly on the move. It's possible you'll parachute down into the center of the white circle, though it's also very unlikely. It's a huge map!
There is another recourse: vehicles.
A handful of driveable cars, trucks, and buggies made it through whatever happened on the island, and you'll occasionally find one while you're looting. They are a blessing and a curse.
This is what I'm talking about.
In the example above, one player with a sniper rifle and a ghillie suit hides on a slope, and fires on a car from a safe distance. The car explodes.
Perhaps the player shot the gas tank. Perhaps another player attacked them with an explosive (you'll find grenades every now and again, both explosive and smoke-based). What's clear is one thing: The driver made a lot of noise with that engine, and other players noticed. Then those other players attacked.
While vehicles are a much faster way of getting around, and can be used as weapons, they are also a massive source of noise in a relatively quiet, massive world. And what are you trying to do out here again? Survive.
You'll encounter a variety of ecological environments on the island, and using them to your advantage is key. Water, for instance, is especially useful for hiding.
Maybe you need to cross a bridge? Maybe you're sneaking up on a house that you saw an enemy run in to?
Using water as a means of stealth is crucial. You can hold your breath for a limited time, but ducking underwater is a great way to sneak. There is a tradeoff of course: If you're caught underwater by an enemy, you're defenseless. If nothing else, "Battlegrounds" is a game about risk versus reward.
Tall grass can also be useful, though if you're wearing a bright blue jacket it's less useful.
Players can go "prone" — laid out flat on the ground, stomach down — in tall grass, thus making them slightly harder to see (and thus, slightly harder to shoot). This is a great way to lay in wait for enemies who might be, say, heading toward that car you intentionally left as a trap.
It's easy to understand why "Battlegrounds" caught on so fast: There's a constant feeling of "What's going to happen next?" that makes it ridiculously replayable and exciting.
Even the best "Battlegrounds" player might parachute into an area on the map that's got next-to-no weapons. Even the worst "Battlegrounds" player might stumble onto a jackpot of weapons, health kits, and armor. Not fighting anyone is a strong option in "Battlegrounds," which is a welcome change.
The guy you see above in the ghillie suit with the sniper rife? Maybe he's just waiting out another fight. Often, your best option in "Battlegrounds" is to play it safe, hang back, and let other players kill each other while you laugh and watch the player count drop.
Remember: The goal is to be the last man standing, not to be the player with the most kills. As a result, "Battlegrounds" feels outright intellectual. It's a game of outsmarting other players, not shooting them first.
At some point, if you survive, you'll find yourself pitted against the remaining survivors in an ever-shrinking circle.
And this is when you might want to pull our that assault rifle you've been hanging onto. Try your best not to be as brash as the player above, who's standing out in the open firing his weapon. Just like the first 10 minutes of the match, the last 10 minutes are a terrifying scrum as players rush to take each other out before the circle closes in on them.
This is when you're most likely to see people throwing explosives, setting buildings on fire, and driving cars into each other. It's similar to the first 10 minutes, but with far, far more heavily-armed players.
Should you be taken out, don't despair: There's always another group of 100 people waiting to parachute to the island.
Since soft-launching on Steam's "Early Access" program on March 23, two million copies of the game have been sold. At $30 apiece, that's a gross of $60 million on a game that isn't even officially released yet. That's really good, but here's some more context: "Battlegrounds" is currently the number three most-streamed game on Amazon-owned Twitch, the world's largest game streaming service.
It's also the third-highest game on the currently played list on Steam — the world's largest digital game store.
That's no joke, especially considering this game is only available on a single platform (PC) thus far.
Don't have a PC? Don't worry: "Battlegrounds" is being ported to the Xbox One in the near future, and potentially the PlayStation 4 as well.
It's not clear when exactly that will arrive, but "some time this year" seems like a good bet. The team at Bluehole Studios is looking to get the game out of early access and into a finished form within the next five months (or so).
And at the same time, Bluehole is looking at bringing the game to both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. "We have a team working already on looking to port it to at least the Xbox. We're looking at both consoles of course, but we have no time frame for both," Brendan Greene told us in a recent livestream of "Battlegrounds."
Check out our full playthrough here for much, much more information on the game, and a long interview with its creator: