Ghost Recon Breakpoint
For all the backlash that Ghost Recon Wildlands received before and just after launch for taking the series’ trademark tactical stealth gameplay and dumping it into yet another Ubisoft open world, it actually garnered a strong following. It also didn’t hurt that the development team steadily improved on the experience, adding new content, a solo option and tougher difficulties for the hardcore. Of course, it just had to throw away all that goodwill with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Not only was the open world much worse in comparison but the addition of live service and looter shooter elements – including a social hub – gave way to heaps of microtransactions, whether it was for skill points, cosmetics or new weapons. It was abundantly clear that all of this was meant to cash in on the live service looter shooter success of games like The Division instead of delivering a compelling follow-up that stuck to the original’s strengths. Ubisoft would bring back squad AI, difficulty modifiers (including an option to switch off Gear Score) and more with subsequent updates but the damage was already done.
