MonsterVine was provided with a review code for PUBG on the PS4.
Originally, I was going to write this as a traditional review, but while playing PUBG, I realized I sucked super hard at PUBG. I’m horrible at it. It took multiple games for me to get a single kill, and there would be 15-20 minute stretches of me running around to find something to do. I feel like you’ve probably figured out that I have practically no first-hand experience with battle royale games, but if you haven’t, let me say right off the bat that I have practically no first-hand experience with battle royale games. I have barely played them and I stink at them- but this made me want to play PUBG even more. Maybe that was a bad decision, maybe it wasn’t, I don’t know, you’re not my dad.
I covered the big H1Z1 tournament early last year, and while covering that, I made sure to point out that I wasn’t a big “battle royale” kind of guy. I’ve played maybe seven rounds of Fortnite in my time on this planet, and that’s it. If you hadn’t noticed, battle royales have gotten to be a bit of a “big deal,” so as a game journalist that wants to be taken semi-seriously, I’ve been trying to better understand these wacky titles. PUBG and Fortnite made the subgenre explode, and now Call of Duty, Battlefield, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure are all getting battle royale modes; the world is insane and in love with battle royales. That was a bit of a tangent, but the point is that I barely played battle royale games before now and, even after diving in a bit, I suck at these games.
So when I started playing PUBG, I wasn’t shocked when I went a few matches without getting any kills. Because I’m a doofus, I jumped out of the plane way too early in my first match and spent five minutes running straight for the “safe zone”. But I wasn’t discouraged, because I felt like I was learning with each (increasingly delayed) death. By round 2 I figured out that I shouldn’t just jump out of the plane whenever I felt like it. By round 3, I figured out that I should focus on finding equipment above all else, and by round 4 I figured out that I should also be pretty focused on being quiet and well-hidden. Each round brought simple but major improvements with it, making the game a bit more fun with each death.
This growth was supplemented by PUBG’s training mode, which drops you into a hub full of weapons, shooting ranges, dummies, and equipment. Here you can freely practice whatever you wish with other players, as you’re invincible and free to practice with any weapon or loadout. I found this to be immensely helpful, as it provided me with the best possible environment to learn in. Instead of dropping a bible of tutorial text or mind-numbing guided tutorial segments on me, PUBG told me to go nuts and figure things out by screwing around. This is a major plus for PUBG, and other battle royale rookies will likely find this mode to be a huge boon.
I find PUBG to be far more tense than Fortnite. Part of this tension comes from the stark difference between the visual styles of both games, but the majority comes from the slower and heavier pace of PUBG. Looting bags and bodies takes up most of the screen and, for the inexperienced player, takes a decent amount of focus away from your surroundings. You don’t run very fast and can’t jump very high, meaning you’re grounded and crouching for most of any given match. This tension, which builds as a match goes on, provides a thrilling flavor to every round, which I appreciated quite a bit.
It’s not all sunshine and roses though, mind you. Whether it’s because of PUBG’s enormous maps or a blemish on battle royales in general, I spent way, way too much time doing nothing. In multiple matches I would go 10-15 minutes without running into anyone or anything of note. I would literally shoot my gun into the air to make noise to attract someone’s attention, or jump around in the open, without encountering anyone in a full match. Keep in mind, I’m not talking about the match where I was outside of the safe zone. These were completely standard matches that took place when I was accustomed to PUBG, and at times, it was utterly grating. I don’t expect endless action from a tense battle royale, but when it takes nearly 20 minutes for something to happen, I can’t help but feel bored.
The Final Word
So is PUBG on PS4 a good game? Yes, I’d say that, overall, it’s a fun battle royale that uses tension and planning to its advantage. This can often lead to long stretches of monotony, which will make even the most patient man squirm, but it feels worth it when you finally get towards the end of a round.
MonsterVine Rating: 3.5 out of 5 – Fair
