Battle royale modes have become the new big trend in the gaming industry. After the spectacular success of both PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite, major online-centric third party titles such as Black Ops 4 and Battlefield V are being rumoured to follow suite and include battle royale modes of their own.
Yet another major upcoming release that might be including its own battle royale mode, according to rumours, is Red Dead Redemption 2, and given its unique western themes and setting, the concept seems doubly interesting. According to a couple of professional PUBG players though, there’s certain things that Rockstar need to implement and mark with their own unique brand of design and quality to make battle royale in Red Dead Redemption 2 stand out.
“The western portion will be the main selling point for players,” Trey Bourne, team manager for PUBG at Ghost Gaming said to RedBull, who feels that rather than using trope-y mechanics like the blue enclosing ring or random bomb drops need to be replaced by mechanics that are reflective of the nature of the base game itself. “Other than Miramar in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – there isn’t anything western about the current games that are in the battle-royale genre. […] Horses, revolvers, Colts, Winchesters etc could be fun,” he continues. “It can’t be taken from other games, it has to be done in Rockstar’s image.”
“I think there should be a 20 to 32 player maximum for the game mode,” Bourne continues. “And have the players spawn with one pistol or a random weapon of equal power that you can find easily in the map.” Yet another pro PUBG player, Mario Joos, echoes these statements.
“The game needs to give each player the feeling they can approach the match in different ways, like sneaking around, creeping along the side of circle, or going in guns blazing,” Joos says. “Transportation is a big part of that, it adds an element of risk and reward. If you’re on a horse you’ll be a bigger target but it’ll be easier to reposition. I would honestly look at the mechanics of Battlefield and their horses. They definitely shouldn’t “blow up,” but they should be able to be shot in certain points or wounded to not be able to go as quick.”
That actually sounds pretty good. The battle royale genre in and of itself has hit popularity very, very recently, which is why it mould be even greater to see Rockstar putting their own and Red Dead Redemption 2’s own unique identity. What are your thoughts in this? Let us know in your comments below.
Thanks, Redbull.