Back to basics
BattleBit Remastered is not something I would’ve normally leapt into, at first blush. The low-poly, almost Roblox-like character models made me think that its sudden popularity on the Steam charts might be a flash in the pan. But overlooking BattleBit on aesthetics alone would’ve meant missing out on rediscovering a piece of the FPS landscape I’d thought lost.
I loved old Battlefield. The World War II iterations were my first introduction, but there are few shooters I’ve put as much time into as my family did on Battelfield 2. It was the perfect mix of progression, variety, strategy, and shooting. I mention this to underscore the praise I’m giving BattleBit Remastered when I say it reminds me of Battlefield 2. It’s a strong entry in the “shooter with a strategy meta-layer” category. After a little under a week of playing it on and off, I can see why it’s currently dominating Steam charts.
Ready to roll out
Part of the beauty of BattleBit Remastered is in its relative simplicity. If you’ve played a Battlefield game, you’ll feel right at home. You can queue up for one of the massive matches, ranging up to 127 v. 127 players, and immediately get into the action. Pick a class like Assault, Recon, Engineer, Medic, or Support, and hit the dirt. Take some control points. Deplete their tickets before yours are gone.
It’s not just about familiarity, though. For one, the shooting feels very good. And it feels good at ranges, too. BattleBit Remastered encourages you to watch the horizon a bit, as shots can hit you from hundreds of meters off. Snipers will have to account for drop after a certain distance, but otherwise, you’ll need to be smart. I quickly found the guns I liked, and set to work unlocking their various attachments.
Some aspects are a bit pared down, in interesting ways. You do have squads you can spawn in on, as well as rally points you can establish and points you capture on a map. Interestingly, it doesn’t seem like there’s a parachute in the game. Rather, infantry enter and exit helicopters safely through rappel ropes. This means a transport helicopter can’t just do a sweep over a point and dump off a squad; that heli has to stall for a moment, adding a lot of tension to air attacks.
Breaking point
The biggest draw for BattleBit Remastered to me, though, was the destructible environments. Buildings and cover can be shred to bits by tank shells or RPGs. An easy way to take out an emplacement is to open it up. There was a second-story building where the enemy team had holed up and was picking off our advance, so I launched a rocket at the wall. Bam, no more cover.
Of course, that’s a two-way street. Now, when we took the building, it had a giant hole in its defenses. Seeing the enemy better means they can see you better, too. There’s a good push-and-pull to take and retaking points in BattleBit Remastered. That’s not to say there aren’t moments of two teams, lined up at an intersection, lobbing grenades and sporadic infantry charges back and forth until something breaks. It’s a bit ingrained in the battle type, at this point.
I do think there’s a lot of opportunity for coordination and strategy to win the day, though. I’ve been mostly lone wolfing, and it was noticeable when a coordinated squad rolled through an area. Developers SgtOkiDoki, Vilaskis, and TheLiquidHorse are pretty good about letting you stick with your squad through different maps, so it’s easy to party up. And there’s voice chat as well, both public and in squads. Speaking of, there are death-cam voices in this game, and they’re always a delight.
Eyes on the prize
Before, I said simplicity was a boon. And that applies to the gameplay; it does what it sets out to do, does it well, and all of it works in harmony. Sleek might be a better word for it. And that extends to the actual game itself, too.
There are “supporter packs” for cosmetics, but so far, no battle pass implementation yet. Progression is made with individual weapons; shoot better with a gun, and you’ll get better attachments. There’s a prestige system too, for those who like to chase the ranks.
It’s funny that a game that doesn’t have built-in engagement drivers is doing a better job at keeping me engaged than those that do, but it’s true. When I boot up BattleBit Remastered, I’m not reminded of a content treadmill of dailies I need to complete. I won’t be pushed to run through certain content, or play in roles I’m not really interested in, or reminded of the cool skins that are only in the shop for X more days. With BattleBit, I put down $15 and got a solid shooter with an absolutely massive player count. I hop in, play some games, and log off whenever I feel like it.
More than just being a better Battlefield option, BattleBit is a more relaxing multiplayer shooter than most of the others in my life. I can hop in, join a random squad, and revel in the sounds of overblown anime music booming through headsets. (In my experience, BattleBit Remastered is actually pretty well moderated; players will certainly indulge in voice chat memeing, but I’ve personally seen both cheating and hate speech quickly squelched by the system.) It’s the FPS I need right now. And from its position on the Steam charts, I think that sentiment goes for a lot of other people, too.
More Stories by Eric Van Allen
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