Pubg PS4 Review PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds PS4 Review
Pubg PS4 Review PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds PS4 Review
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds quickly changed the game industry substantially after releasing in early access in March 2017. It took all the learnings (and namesake) of Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene's previous works - where he crafted battle royale modes within ARMA 2's DayZ mod and consulted on Sony Online Entertainment's H1Z1 - and brought forth the large-scale and gritty battle royale experience together with Korean developer Bluehole, Inc.
for which Greene serves as Creative Director.
Nonetheless, despite PUBG’s belated appearance on PlayStation hardware thanks to a period of console exclusivity on Xbox One, it’s still clear that Bluehole’s genre defining shooter still has it what it takes to be compellingly enjoyable in the face of its immediate competition. Certainly, there are fewer thrills more potent than the saccharine sweetness of bagging your first solo win after a tense, heart-pounding game of cat and mouse with an opponent that you know to be in the immediate vicinity.
The Xbox version of the game, a half-baked port of a PC title which isn't well optimized as is on its lead platform, still runs poorly even on the powerful Xbox One X. Its fundamental gameplay mechanics are clunky and subpar compared to any other notable shooter, and it looks dated. Skip forward a year, and now PlayStation 4 players can experience the same disappointment and bugs. Little has changed, and shockingly, PUBG on PS4 is the worst version of the game.
Aside from the haphazard messiness of the controls, one major asset of PUBG on PS4 is the dependable and realistic quality of the shooting itself, as it generally feels solid no matter which of the wealth of different guns and weapon modifications players wield. Nevertheless, basic movement and evasive maneuvers–especially when in vehicles–can occasionally be unreliable and ineffective, with the floaty feel of jumping being among the worst offenders. Naturally, this hampers the inherently pleasurable nature of getting to use the actual firing mechanics when a firefight does break out. Plus, accessing menus on the fly is incredibly unintuitive, with the poor quality of their designs and layouts often prompting confusion and frustration. With this being the case, the PlayStation 4 iteration of the title doesn't offer too much incentive for players to stick around for more than a few matches at a time, thus hindering its overall replay value.
Elsewhere, with fairly low detail textures, poor shadowing effects and flat lighting, it’s not unreasonable to say that PUBG is somewhat of an ugly duckling in its current state, too. Though in fairness, PUBG’s maps are much larger and more complex than any other Battle Royale effort on the market, so it’s clear where the technical trade-offs have been made.
Then there is the UI. With its numerous weapon upgrades and item configurations, PUBG is a fairly sophisticated beast to say the least and annoyingly, the UI doesn’t exactly help matters. Whereas in H1Z1 you can instantly access a handy radial interface to switch between your various weapons and equipment, in PUBG you have to physically open up a separate inventory screen to use the weapon mods you’ve picked up or even drop gear that you no longer want to keep. It’s hardly an intuitive solution for a game in which every second counts and immediate, game-ending attacks can come from literally anywhere.
Unfortunately, that thrill is marred by bad interface designs that make looting and managing inventory painful and dangerous, given that you can be shot while navigating tabs and manually moving things around while trying to loot or mod a weapon. The devs did minimal work in translating the game to console controllers, and didn't take any of the learnings from other games that do this better.
One of the biggest drawbacks of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds on PS4 comes from its lack of polish, as it's almost a given that one will come across texture and detail pop-ins every time they decide to play a round. On top of this, there are some janky animations that can't be ignored, as well as other frequent object rendering issues. What's more is that the bland aesthetics and environments in PUBG leave a lot to be desired, with virtually every area on the game's available maps being nearly indistinguishable from one another, especially on the desert map Miramar.
All of this is not to say that PUBG on PS4 isn't fun, as it's definitely a serviceable experience for Battle Royale aficionados who want a more strategic and deliberately paced alternative to competitors like Fortnite and Black Ops 4's Blackout. Unfortunately, though, there are still a host of problems that PUBG Corp. needs to address so as to justify the PlayStation 4 port's $30 price tag.
On PC, PUBG has settled in after its massive player base began shrinking month after month, and it runs well enough on high-end PCs. On consoles, though, it's not a recommendable experience, especially on the PS4 version of the game which gets embarrassed in visuals and performance by more recent shooters Black Ops 4 and Battlefield V.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds quickly changed the game industry substantially after releasing in early access in March 2017. It took all the learnings (and namesake) of Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene's previous works - where he crafted battle royale modes within ARMA 2's DayZ mod and consulted on Sony Online Entertainment's H1Z1 - and brought forth the large-scale and gritty battle royale experience together with Korean developer Bluehole, Inc.
for which Greene serves as Creative Director.
Nonetheless, despite PUBG’s belated appearance on PlayStation hardware thanks to a period of console exclusivity on Xbox One, it’s still clear that Bluehole’s genre defining shooter still has it what it takes to be compellingly enjoyable in the face of its immediate competition. Certainly, there are fewer thrills more potent than the saccharine sweetness of bagging your first solo win after a tense, heart-pounding game of cat and mouse with an opponent that you know to be in the immediate vicinity.
The Xbox version of the game, a half-baked port of a PC title which isn't well optimized as is on its lead platform, still runs poorly even on the powerful Xbox One X. Its fundamental gameplay mechanics are clunky and subpar compared to any other notable shooter, and it looks dated. Skip forward a year, and now PlayStation 4 players can experience the same disappointment and bugs. Little has changed, and shockingly, PUBG on PS4 is the worst version of the game.
Aside from the haphazard messiness of the controls, one major asset of PUBG on PS4 is the dependable and realistic quality of the shooting itself, as it generally feels solid no matter which of the wealth of different guns and weapon modifications players wield. Nevertheless, basic movement and evasive maneuvers–especially when in vehicles–can occasionally be unreliable and ineffective, with the floaty feel of jumping being among the worst offenders. Naturally, this hampers the inherently pleasurable nature of getting to use the actual firing mechanics when a firefight does break out. Plus, accessing menus on the fly is incredibly unintuitive, with the poor quality of their designs and layouts often prompting confusion and frustration. With this being the case, the PlayStation 4 iteration of the title doesn't offer too much incentive for players to stick around for more than a few matches at a time, thus hindering its overall replay value.
Elsewhere, with fairly low detail textures, poor shadowing effects and flat lighting, it’s not unreasonable to say that PUBG is somewhat of an ugly duckling in its current state, too. Though in fairness, PUBG’s maps are much larger and more complex than any other Battle Royale effort on the market, so it’s clear where the technical trade-offs have been made.
Then there is the UI. With its numerous weapon upgrades and item configurations, PUBG is a fairly sophisticated beast to say the least and annoyingly, the UI doesn’t exactly help matters. Whereas in H1Z1 you can instantly access a handy radial interface to switch between your various weapons and equipment, in PUBG you have to physically open up a separate inventory screen to use the weapon mods you’ve picked up or even drop gear that you no longer want to keep. It’s hardly an intuitive solution for a game in which every second counts and immediate, game-ending attacks can come from literally anywhere.
Unfortunately, that thrill is marred by bad interface designs that make looting and managing inventory painful and dangerous, given that you can be shot while navigating tabs and manually moving things around while trying to loot or mod a weapon. The devs did minimal work in translating the game to console controllers, and didn't take any of the learnings from other games that do this better.
One of the biggest drawbacks of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds on PS4 comes from its lack of polish, as it's almost a given that one will come across texture and detail pop-ins every time they decide to play a round. On top of this, there are some janky animations that can't be ignored, as well as other frequent object rendering issues. What's more is that the bland aesthetics and environments in PUBG leave a lot to be desired, with virtually every area on the game's available maps being nearly indistinguishable from one another, especially on the desert map Miramar.
All of this is not to say that PUBG on PS4 isn't fun, as it's definitely a serviceable experience for Battle Royale aficionados who want a more strategic and deliberately paced alternative to competitors like Fortnite and Black Ops 4's Blackout. Unfortunately, though, there are still a host of problems that PUBG Corp. needs to address so as to justify the PlayStation 4 port's $30 price tag.
On PC, PUBG has settled in after its massive player base began shrinking month after month, and it runs well enough on high-end PCs. On consoles, though, it's not a recommendable experience, especially on the PS4 version of the game which gets embarrassed in visuals and performance by more recent shooters Black Ops 4 and Battlefield V.
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