Update: The jury is in, and we’ve decided thatthis is the battle royale revival we needed. Read more inour completeApex Legendsreview.
Respawn Entertainment, the developer behindTitanfalland its underrated sequelTitanfall 2, is back with an all-new battle royale shooter set in the Titanfall universe.Apex Legendsis a battle royale featuring plenty of Respawn’s personal creativity — and it’s available for free right now.
Set after the events ofTitanfall 2in a different section of the universe called the “Outlands,”Apex Legendsis a class-based game rather than the build-your-own-character model used by many competitors. Each class hasa unique personality and abilitiesthat drastically separate them from one another. “Caustic,” for instance, makes use of toxic chemical weapons to kill enemies, while the robotic “Pathfinder” uses grappling hooks and zip lines similar to those seen inTitanfall 2.
The environment has also been designed to favor certain classes in particular locations, with the “Cascades” built for snipers.
Every class inApex Legendshas access to a tactical ability, an ultimate ability, and a passive ability, but they’ll still search for weapons on the ground like they do in other battle royale games. A “Jumpmaster” chooses when a squad will jump, and special “hot zones” are marked for the best gear. There are also roaming supply ships that have the most powerful gear, and you can redeploy by accessing a “Jump Tower.”
In keeping with the Respawn name, death inApex Legendsisn’t necessarily permanent. Once you’re knocked down, a teammate can revive you, but even complete “death” can be reversed if your teammate grabs your banner card and reaches a respawn beacon. In the process, you’ll lose your gear, but you’ll be able to fight another battle.
Weapons are customizable inApex Legends, and you’ll have access to backpacks to hold more gear throughout a match. There will also be the opportunity torank up your accountand acquire cosmetic upgrades, but Respawn wants to keep a level playing field regardless of how much time someone has spent in the game to date.
Apex Legendsis available for free now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, and Respawn plans to continuously update the game. New content is planned over the next few months, including weapons and challenges, and more characters will be added to the game as well.
However, the game isnotbeing made in addition to a potential third Titanfall game. Speaking toEurogamer, producer Drew McCoy explainedTitanfall 3was not in development, and that EA and Respawn chose to releaseApex Legendswithout any advance marketing campaign in order to let the game “speak for itself.” Given that there was already concern regarding Respawn beingpurchased by Electronic Artsin 2017, we’ll have to wait see if the studio ever gets to make a third game.
