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Become a class-based champion and then explore a fantasy realm and fight against player opponents

Become a class-based champion and then explore a fantasy realm and fight against player opponents

Vote: (102 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Hi-Rez Studios

Version: OB23

Works under: Windows

Vote:

Program license

(102 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Hi-Rez Studios

OB23

Works under:

Windows

Pros

  • Bright and colorful, with a unique identity from other battle royales
  • Class based system is well thought out and versatile

Cons

  • Many powers are still unbalanced when compared to one another
  • Exists in an ecosystem already overcrowded with battle royale games

Realm Royale takes the systems behind the increasingly popular battle royale sub-genre, brings in some new bells and whistles, and plants them in a unique high fantasy setting. Over the course of less than a year, the battle royale has transformed from a unique variation on the traditional first person shooter into an overcrowded market of knock-offs and cheap indie games. With EA getting in on the habit with their latest version of Call of Duty, the market may seem well beyond the point of over-saturation. It may seem like a market in which a new indie developer might not find much luck, but Realm Royale manages to find a voice that's uniquely its own through a unique art style and a few cool features you won't find elsewhere.

This game isn't rebuilding the battle royale structure from the ground up. The fundamentals are still in place. One hundred players are thrust into a map and forced to scrounge around for weapons and supplies while being hunted. Everyone gets only one life, the last one standing gets all the glory, and the map slowly shrinks around you as the bodies hit the floor and the clock ticks down. But Realm Royale distinguishes it by adding a little more variation to the equation. Games like Fortnite and PUBG find balance by making sure that every player begins on the map with access to the same skills, and the reflexes of the player and luck of their spawn point are the main determining factors in their success.

Realm Royale offers another wrinkle through the inclusion of a class system. Each player can choose to play as an Assassin, Warrior, Engineer, Mage, or Hunter, and these choices can have a dramatic effect on your strategy. The passive buff and movement style remain the same for every member of a given class, but each player also have two slots they can use to equip one of four active abilities. As you might expect from the typical royale structure, these abilities need to be discovered in the field, adding the sort of chance-based gameplay that have partially made the genre so popular. Each character also comes with two weapon slots with specific loadouts contingent on your class.

What this creates is a more distinct sense of personality to the characters than you'll traditionally find in a battle royale. There's a long period of hunting and scavenging that precedes the full-on melees, and this is usually enough of an opportunity to create a build that suits your individual needs. Once the walls start closing in and the full-on combat begins, it can feel almost like a hero shooter in the vein of Overwatch, but the variety in loadouts means that it's hard to know exactly what you'll be facing. It's a unique approach to the royale structure that will really have a chance to shine as long as the developers find the right balance.

Pros

  • Bright and colorful, with a unique identity from other battle royales
  • Class based system is well thought out and versatile

Cons

  • Many powers are still unbalanced when compared to one another
  • Exists in an ecosystem already overcrowded with battle royale games