FragPunk is a new 5v5 tactical shooter in the vein of Valorant and Counter-Strike coming to Xbox Series X|S and PC in 2025. After spending a few hours with the closed beta, it’s clear that FragPunk has the juice to compete with the heavy hitters, thanks to its excellent shooting and unique Shard Card mechanic, which makes every round feel unique without totally destroying the tactical aspects.
At first glance, Bad Guitar Studio’s FragPunk is a typical tactical shooter. It’s 5v5, no respawns, with an offense attempting to plant a bomb and a defense trying to prevent them. You have limited weapon picks each round and even earn currency each round based on your performance. There are also heroes to choose from, each with their unique abilities. But the big thing here is the Shard cards you select each round, which can do something as simple as improve your team’s headshot damage to something as wild as letting your team come back as zombies when they die, giving another shot at taking out the enemy team.
FragPunk’s Shard Cards Make Each Round Unique
In casual play each round your team is presented with three random cards pulled from the cards each player has unlocked. You unlock these cards as your account levels up, adding more variety to the mix, but since they are chosen at random, it also doesn’t give you a big leg up over new players. Each card has a different cost, which you can contribute your Shards to, which are earned as each round goes on. You can reroll, at the cost of precious Shards.
Because these cards are presented at random, it presents a new tactic to focus on each round. If your team gets a card that gives all shotguns dragon’s breath, it makes sense to run shotgun that round. If you get the card that removes one of the bomb sites while on defense, it drastically shifts the way you play that round. Some of these cards are quite silly too, like a big head mode that makes the enemy team have larger heads for easier headshots. This makes every round, which typically takes about two-and-a-half minutes to complete, feel unique.
The gunplay still plays a big role, especially with a very low time-to-kill. Despite its tactical nature, FragPunk doesn’t have massive penalties for shooting while moving and feels much more like Call of Duty than Valorant in that regard. The hero abilities range from a rocket launcher to a blast that marks enemies, and even a guitar-shotgun. These abilities are important and in certain cases strong, but they still are more supplemental to the shooting.
The ranked mode works a little differently, with your team electing a team captain. The team captain is in charge of picking and banning Shard cards at the beginning of each round, making for a more competitive experience. The selection of cards is still random, but this allows for a more focused use of Shards each round.
The weapon buy system is also interesting here, forcing players to use a larger variety of weapons. Since the economy is focused on cards, the weapons have a more simplified system. At the start of each half of the match–marked by when you switch between offense and defense or vice versa–you get one use of each weapon. If you pick a weapon for a round and die, your single use is gone and you have to choose something else. If you live, you keep it. There is a card that refills these uses and you can request for a teammate to use their weapon ticket on you. This makes players more likely to give teammates weapons since you might not even like the weapon they are requesting.
The overtime rules are also unique and incredibly fun. Instead of continually going back and forth between offense and defense or a winner takes all final rounds, it’s settled with 1v1s. Your team selects the order in which you participate, putting one person from each team in a small arena. If your teammate wins, they stay in and don’t refill any lost health. Each team goes through all of their players until a winner is decided. These rounds are incredibly fast and getting to select the order you fight in provides a nice bit of tactical decision making.
FragPunk is also incredibly colorful, with both the menus and the gameplay having a color splashed look. It makes the gameplay really pop and provides a much more fun look compared to other tactical shooters. There are also plenty of hero and gun skins, for players who want to customize their cosmetics.
Overall, FragPunk feels like it has found itself a unique hook to stand out in a crowded shooter market. It has smooth gunplay and feel, which helps the more hardcore players stick around, while the chaotic nature of the Shard Cards makes sure each round feels unique. As the variety of heroes and Shard Cards continue to build before release and beyond, FragPunk seems set to stand out with its unique and fresh ideas.
