In the current realm of the gaming industry, one type of game has total dominance over the market: Battle Royale. For those who don’t know, a Battle Royale style game involves a larger number of players on 1 map that each have to find supplies and weapon s to fight for their survival. The winner of said game is determined by which person or team is the last standing. This type of game was made extremely popular by games such as Player Unkown’s Battle Grounds and Fortnite Battle Royale. As to why these games became so popular, the answer isn’t very clear, but what is clear is that they have had a tremendous effect on the gaming market. Due to this, major franchises like Call of Duty and Battlefield have both implemented Battle Royale modes into their newest installments. The addition of Battle Royale to these games have been quite successful, that is, until an enormous force came into the market: Apex Legends.

Apex Legends came out to consumers on February 4^th, 2019, and immediately took the gaming world by storm. It drew in players from many games, including but not limited to Overwatch, Call Of Duty, Battlefield, and Fortnite. Seeing as the game has acquired immense success, let’s look deeper into it and see if Apex Legends lives up to the hype surrounding it.

For starters, Apex Legends is made by Respawn Entertainment, the developers responsible for Titanfall 1 and 2. These previous games by Respawn were generally praised by critics, but suffered from declining sales due to intense competition in the first person shooter genre. However, these low sales didn’t stop Respawn from creating a new game. Instead of the expected Titanfall 3, the developers made a free-to-play Battle Royale experience that takes place in the Titanfall universe. The fact that they made the game free-to-play was an excellent decision on the part of the developers, as it allows the game to compete with the industry giants. “I never played Titanfall, but Apex Legends makes me want to go back and try those games out because of how awesome this title is.” said Preston Reuscher, a senior at Lafayette High School.

While Apex Legends is a free-to-play game, it sure doesn’t look like it- in the absolute best way possible. The moment one steps into this game’s world, they are instantly immersed in the experience. Everything from the sounds of the environment, the detailed terrain, all the way to how the sunlight glistens on the water, creates a sense of immersion that very few games achieve. It speaks volumes to how much time and effort was put into this game when it has higher launch quality than most full price 60 dollar games nowadays.

Aesthetics aside, since it is a game, it is important to look at how the game plays. Apex Legends follows the standard Battle Royale formula, but with an interesting twist. Similar to the game Overwatch, before the match starts, players select 1 of 8 different in-game characters, who each have different abilities. This aspect of the game is absolutely wonderful, as it allows players to experiment with different play styles; something that is quite uncommon for the Battle Royale genre. This aspect also makes sure that gameplay doesn’t become monotonous, which adds to the longevity of the game. “I spent a lot of time playing Overwatch, so unique characters are an awesome addition for Battle Royale game” said Zach Yelich, a senior at Lafayette High School.  Another area where Apex Legends parts ways with the genre, is its extreme emphasis on team work. As of now, players are only able to play in teams of 3, meaning there is no solo or duo play currently in the game. While this may sound disappointing to players who either don’t have friends or like to play solo, the game does an excellent job of making it both easier and more fun for that type of player. In the game, there is the very helpful “ping” feature. This feature allows players to communicate with their teammates via the simple push of a button. A player is able to point out enemies, call for help, point out ammunition, etc. via the use of the Ping feature.

Innovations aside, the core first-person shooter gameplay of Apex Legends is incredibly solid. Everything from how the player moves around the map to how the weapons fire show how smooth and easy the gameplay is. Along with that, the game runs at a consistent 60 Frames per Second at 1080p, making the experience easy on the eyes. “The game’s graphical quality is quite impressive, especially since there’s a bunch of action going on at all times during the game.” said Nahsee Banks, a senior at Woodside High School.

Overall, Apex Legends has been the biggest surprise of the year, trumping giants that seemed unstoppable. With 25 million players world-wide in only a couple weeks, it is no surprise how this is already considered a viral game. As one can easily see, Apex Legends is an extremely well made game that deserves all of its praise and player numbers.