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Apex Legends

Well here’s a first, a game that isn’t on Steam.

Apex Legends is Respawn’s own battle royale game that is set within Titanfall’s universe (which sadly doesn’t include any mechs).

Before Apex Legends got released, no one really knew about the game, there was no marketing, or anything from the major publications, just a couple of people on youtube that has only heard about the game. Despite the game just coming out of nowhere, it managed to be a massive success… And essentially became not only my favorite game but my favorite battle royale.

 

To sum up this game: Take Overwatch, and turn it into a battle royale. Every character fulfills a different role, but all of them are viable. To name a few examples: Pathfinder uses a grappling hook, Lifeline heals, Caustic can place down gas traps, and Bloodhound can track players. Every character is different and viable, there is no better character or meta to worry about. A match in Apex Legends is your standard affair, pick your character, drop down from the dropship, scramble to find a weapon, traverse around a large map with a border that will damage you, and don’t die. Of course, you’re not alone at this, as this game is purely a squads game, so you will have two other players that have your back. (until duos and solo get added in). Also when your squad picks their character, the player that goes third will be declared as the jumpmaster of the squad where they control where the squad lands, but they can always pass it over to someone else, or you can just abandon everyone and go on your own.

Since the game is all about the squads, teamwork is very vital for victory. Of course, there is always the issue of getting stuck with a team that doesn’t have a mic, henceforth, they don’t communicate, but there is one simple system that fixes that issue: The ability to ping. Ping weapons, ping ammo, ping destinations, ping enemies, ping items that you need. This really makes a difference since players who don’t use a mic can still communicate with other players, without messing around with text chat. Of course as typical with Battle Royale games, if you die your pretty much out of the game, and you’ll have to leave your team behind, and have to queue for a new match… BUT! There is another standout feature: The ability to respawn. If you die in a match, you’re not completely out, your allies can pick up your banner from where you died, and head to a respawn point to bring you back into the action. You lose all of your stuff when you come back, but that’s a small price to pay just to keep playing. These two simple features really make Apex Legends stand out from the crowd (so much so that even Fortnite copied the respawn mechanic). The only real downside I can think of is the cosmetics store where the legendary skins are being sold for $18.00 in Apex Coins (the game’s buyable currency). Thankfully cosmetics are the only thing being sold in the store, and offered through the loot boxes. You can only buy the additional characters with Legend Tokens which is earned in game, or the Apex Coins. If you want to drop money into the game, just buy one or two the game’s characters or the loot boxes which will not give you any duplicate items. On the other hand, you can easily earn loot boxes, just by playing the game.

Apex Legends is only available through Origin and is free to play, there are optional starter packs, but are not entirely necessarily. Overall for the price of nothing, Apex Legends is a great experience if you’re looking for a battle royale with a bit more substance. Of course, that’s just my opinion.

SCP: Secret Laboratory

A fun shooter/horror game set within the SCP Foundation. Survive the horrifying SCPs, die, and the have good laugh after the match. The game is still in development but has a lot of potential.

 

SCP Foundation Log: 041718
Author: [REDACTED]

A breakout has happened within the SCP Foundation. SCPs 049, 096, 106, and 173 have escaped containment.
D Class have also been unlocked from their chambers.
Cause of the breakout is unknown, SCP-079 is currently unresponsive, unclear if SCP-079 is the cause of the breakout.
Nine Tail Fox are currently en route to the facility, ETA: 12 minutes.
All researchers are to evacuate the facility immediately and rendezvous with the N.T.F. and avoid both the SCPs and the D Class at all costs.
Chaos Insurgency has arrived onto the facility.
SCPs 049, 096, and 173 have been reclassified as Keter, all available units of the N.T.F. must eliminate any SCPs in sight, along with the Chaos Insurgency, and the D Class.
D Class must not escape from the facility.
Access to SCP-914 has been opened, all researchers must use SCP-914 to construct an administrator keycard and use it to activate the Alpha Warhead…
Destroy the underground facility…
Wipe out the Insurgents…
Wipe out the SCPs…
Survival is the only option…
If you see any of the SCPs…
RUN…

Okay seriousness aside, SCP: Secret Laboratory is the most fun I ever had with a multiplayer shooter. The visuals aren’t too amazing to look at, but I feel that adds to the creepiness factor, giving the game an uncanny look to it. There isn’t anything more terrifying than finding yourself alone within the foundation’s hallways only to suddenly come across the statue SCP-176 who will snap your neck once look away from it. Or getting caught by SCP-106’s personal dimension and trying to find out which door is the way out. And don’t get me started on SCP-096! Then you get gunned down by the either the Chaos Insurgency or the Nine Tail Fox. Some matches you’ll be on edge while hunting for the SCPs, and other times you’ll be having a good laugh with your teammates yelling out “D-BOIS” while stealing the keycards from the scientists and calling them “NERDS”. I’ve been coming back to this game quite often and had fun every time. The best part is that it is available for the low low price of… NOTHING. The game is still in development, so it is far from perfect. In my case, I had the game crash on me quite often, which can be quite annoying. Regardless there is a lot of potential for this game, and definitely worth keeping an eye on.

If you want to check out the game for yourself, then check out the Steam store page here!

Also, if you want to support the game, you can check out the developer’s Patreon here!

Rainbow Six Siege

A fantastic and rewarding tactical shooter with a large focus on teamwork. Definitely worth a buy for your library. JUST DON’T BUY THE STARTER EDITION!

Okay… Starter Edition aside, Rainbow Six Siege is fantastic. Rainbow Six is all about TEAMWORK, and I like games that are all about teamwork. Every operator stands out fulfilling some role that can benefit the team, but what truly matters is how you use the operators, and how your team uses them. Communication is everything if you want to win a match! Where is the objective, what operators does the enemy team have, are they around that corner? It’s not about gunning down the enemy team, but HOW you take down the enemy team, and when you work together with your team the victory is that much sweeter. Ubisoft is always releasing new operators to add some flair to the competition and even including new event game modes like the outbreak event. It only just shows that more exciting and interesting things are coming to Rainbow Six.

Whether your casual or pro, you’ll get a lot of enjoyment out of Rainbow Six Siege. Though I would not recommend picking up the Starter Edition since you only start with a 3 random attacking and defending operators, and you’ll have to unlock the rest through a slow 15-hour grind. If you want to play the game, I highly recommend you pick up the Standard Edition since you get all of the base operators from the start.

Check them out on Steam or their Official Site

Deep Rock Galactic

A fantastic co-op shooter that is fun to play with friends, or with strangers. Features 4 unique classes, various underground environments, crazy horde combat, with much more to come!

I very much liked Deep Rock Galactic.

Even as an early access game, Deep Rock Galactic provides a lot of entertainment, especially with friends (or strangers). One moment your just mining for some Morkite and then suddenly you find out about a swarm coming for your ass! It turns from a simple expedition to a fight for your life! One Dwarf is building turrets, another Dwarf is gunning down the big ones, while the other Dwarf is burning the little guys. The levels can vary from simple straightforward caves to literal mazes where you can easily get lost (unless you dig to your allies). You can play in by yourself and you even get a robot companion that helps with digging and combat but playing with a group is ideal for this game.

There are some hiccups with the game, such as the placement for the dropship, and a bug I came across that spawns me below the dropship and makes me fall through the world. Of course, I do spawn right back (except for that one time where I fell through the world and landed into a deeper part of the cave and died). Regardless this game is very great, even if it is still in development. There is much more to look forward to, such as cosmetics and maybe more weapons and enemies. This is a game I highly recommend!

If your interested in this game, check it out the steam store page here!