These games are a dime a dozen these days, but I think this one is the real deal. It’s got a much larger scope than many of the others (which seem to be making it up as they go) and developers who I think actually have the ability to realise most of them.
Already it’s got a really large amount of features – comparable if not exceeding those of the competition. I’m not a vet of many of these games, H1Z1 was my first real experience with them, but this craps all over H1Z1 IMO.
The graphical performance has improved exponentially in the last few weeks. The game looks amazing – particularly deep in the jungles. It’s also pretty mind-blowing that it’s all destructible.
The dinosaurs also took me by surprise. They’re implemented in a far better way than I anticipated and in many cases present a very real danger. By taming them they become a fantastic way to harvest resources, destroy things, or just as transport. But the untamed wild dinos – awesome. They wander around in herds, groups of herbivores together, being preyed upon by the carnivores who actively hunt them down, kill them (or are often killed too) and eat them.
Base building has a ridiculous amount of things already, clear tiers of advancement and a lot of options. You can build a hell of a lot of things, and if you’re on a PVP server have all the base raid/defence element – though to be fair most pansies attack your base in the dead of the night while you sleep. The fact your unconscious body remains in the game when you leave, and your tamed dinos are vulnerable means you really have far more to consider than simply logging out.
There’s just so much to do in the game and it honestly doesn’t feel like a grind. Obviously some things like large dinos can take a long time to tame, or obtaining things like stone/metal etc can take a long time to build structures, but this exponentially decreased when you play with other people – and that’s a key selling point, you really don’t want to go into this alone, or at least with the aim of playing solo. You really need to be part of a tribe for safety.
But ultimately I just love the feeling of survival. I have to monitor my food and water constantly, be aware of temperature which has very real negative effects. I cant go swimming without being mindful of energy or drowning is a reality. It’s basically very easy to die if you just play it like an arcade game, and that risk of death just makes all the difference. You actually feel like a bit of a vet when you can get around safely. You learn to avoid the big predators, hide from other players etc.
Oh the day night cycle also owns. At night it’s pitch black making torches mandatory. You can see other players carrying them in the distance, the lights in your base of your tribe, or if other people are online. Nights can vary in darkness depending on the moon. And did I mention the graphics own?
Highly recommend checking this game out. Of all the EA survival games, I would be surprised if anything can compare to this.
I didn’t mention the fact they patch almost daily, and sizable feature heavy patches at that. There are bugs and performance issues and all the other things you’d expect, but these guys exude
confidence. I thought it looked crap when I watched a few streams on Twitch, and are sick to death of bloody survival games in my face every second day on Stream. But took a punt because some gamer friends of mine were playing it, and now am hooked as hell. It’s the first game in a long time I’ve actually considered sneaking home from work at lunch time to get a bit of play in.
There's my honest 4 cents.