Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint
Publisher:
Ubisoft
Developer:
Ubisoft
Platforms:
PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia
Genre:Third Person Shooter
Release Date:October 4, 2019
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a third person open world tactical shooter developed and published by Ubisoft. It is the eleventh mainline Ghost Recon title and serves as a direct narrative sequel to the 2017 title, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands.
Development
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint was leaked a day prior to its official announcement, but was officially unveiled by Ubisoft on 9th May, 2019, and confirmed to be releasing in October of the year. Ubisoft announced that they would be supporting the game after its release with raids and expansions, while also confirming that on PC, the game would be exclusive to Uplay and the Epic Games Store.
Jon Bernthal plays the main antagonist of the game, a former Ghost named Cole D. Walker, and was chosen because the developers felt he would be able to portray a charismatic and and effective villain. Ubisoft also wanted to make sure the antagonist isn’t a one dimensional character and has some depth, while also wanting to explore themes such as pain and trauma with the game’s narrative.
It was confirmed that though the game would be playable solo, it would still always require a persistent internet connection to be played. While playing solo, players would not have AI companions, unlike Ghost Recon Wildlands, and would instead only be accompanied by a drone. However, at E3 2019, Ubisoft announced that following feedback from fans, they were reversing this decision, and that solo play would feature AI companions after all.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint is also the first Ghost Recon game to feature a completely fictional setting, since Ubisoft felt this would allow them much more creative freedom than a real location. An archipelago was chosen as the game’s setting so that the developers could add additional areas and islands after launch. The map was created through procedural generation, however, some areas were handcrafted.
During development, Ubisoft also wanted to take feedback from players on Ghost Recon Wildlands into account. This led to the developers focusing more on realism, more extensive post-launch support, more emphasized survival mechanics, and better driving controls.
Story
Ghost Recon Breakpoint serves as a direct narrative sequel to Wildlands. It takes place in the year 2023, four years after Wildlands, and is set on the archipelago known as Auroa. Auroa is an island privately owned by billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist Jace Skell, who is also the founder and head of blue chip company Skell Technology, which produces drones for commercial purposes, but also for as a military contractor. Auroa was purchased by Skell with the intention of turning it into a hub for research and development of AI and drone tech for Skell Technology.
After growing suspicions that Skell Technology’s products are being used by enemy states, which also includes an an assassination that Skell’s tech is involved in, the United States government begins investigating Auroa. However, Auroa soon becomes shut off from the rest of the world, and it is discovered that former Ghost Recon fireteam operative Cole D. Walker has gone rogue and occupied the island in an effort to safeguard the future of warfare.
The Ghosts are deployed to Auroa, where they are tasked with reacquiring Skell technology from Walker and bringing him down. Armed with cutting edge technology, Walker poses an immense threat to the Ghosts, who find themselves alone, outnumbered, and lacking resources in Auroa, and must employ guerrilla tactics while combating against the elements to complete their mission.
Players take on the role of Lieutenant Colonel Anthony “Nomad” Perryman. When playing solo, Nomad is accompanied by three AI-controlled squadmates- Benjamin “Fixit” Jones, Kim “Fury” Hernandez, and David “Vasily” Zhang.
Gameplay
Ghost Recon Breakpoint is an open world tactical third person shooter like its predecessor. It can be played co-operatively by a total of four players, or can be played entirely solo, with solo players being accompanied by AI teammates. Ubisoft wanted to emphasize guerrilla tactics in Ghost Recon Breakpoint, leading to a greater focus on stealth and survival. Enemies are much more numerous and employ more aggressive tactics, while having access to better weapons and skills. There are also a lot more enemy types in the game than there were in Wildlands.
The game is set on the Auroa archipelago, which is comprised of various different biomes, such as forests, snow-capped mountains, wetlands, active volcanoes, and more. The environments and their unique characteristics also play into gameplay much more than they have done in previous titles, with there being a much greater emphasis on survival mechanics in Breakpoint. For instance, while navigating the terrain, players now have to manage their stamina, and depleted stamina can lead to exhaustion and fatigue, and can be propounded by things such as steep slopes.
Injuries also have to be managed. While health regenerates, injuries also accumulate, and serious injuries can have various repercussions, such as health regeneration being limited, the player not being to aim their weapon properly, becoming slower due to limping, making more noise during stealth gameplay, and more.
These injuries can be tended to in camps that players have to set up themselves, where players can also change their character class (of which there are four at launch), manage their weapons, equipment, and invenstory, customize their character’s appearance, and more. Further, camoflague also comes into play during stealth, such as covering oneself in mud to hide from enemies, or being able to pick up corpses to hide them, and more new mechanics to emphasize stealth. Fallen teammates can also be carried away to be able to revive them safely.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint’s missions can be approached in a variety of ways, including stealth or various combat methods, just like its predecessor. However, players have more tools and weapons to make use of in the game, such as a blowtorch to cut through fences, or electromagnetic pulse grenades to disable drones and vehicles, or sulphur gas grenades to use against enemies.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint also introduces loot and loot drops. Loot drops from bosses, mini bosses, and other challenging foes, while players can also explore the open world environments to find better gear, equipment, and cosmetics. Loot is tiered across five different tiers of rarity. Missions can also be replayed to get superior gear and even purchase weapon attachments.
The game also has dialogue choices. These do not impact the narrative or how it plays out, but players can select additional optional dialogue choices during cutscenes to get more intel about their objectives that can be of aid during missions.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint will also have a competitive multiplayer component at launch, while Ubisoft have also confirmed that the game will be receiving raids as part of their plans to support the game with more content post-launch. They also confirmed that the first raid would take place inside an active volcano.
Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.