A Review of BattleBit Remastered - Why You Should Play This Low Poly Shooter Game!
BattleBit Remastered, a 254-player low-poly tactical shooter made by a small indie team, is now storming the charts. In its first week after being released in early access, it generated more revenue on Steam than some AAA blockbusters like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Starfield. You would be forgiven for not having heard of BattleBit Remastered. It does not have a global marketing firm behind it or the years of FPS goodwill other games have and it looks like it was made in Roblox. So what is BattleBit Remastered and why has it suddenly exploded in popularity?
BattleBit Remastered
This game is a massive squad-based first-person objective shooter clearly inspired by the Battlefield series. If you have played Battlefield or other similar games like Call of Duty, then you will be familiar with how BattleBit Remastered goes. The simplistically clean and blocky yet charming graphical style could easily lead some to mistake BattleBit Remastered for a Roblox creation; however, according to a concise one word FAQ response on the game's website, this is assuredly not the case. BattleBit Remastered offers players a high-framerate modern warfare experience wherein up to 254 combatants battle it out in a series of impressively destructible environments replete with a wide range of vehicles, including tanks, helicopters, and sea vehicles. Players can also choose from a pool of more than 45 weapons, which can be augmented with a range of customization options to suit each player’s combat needs. The game’s core gameplay mechanics along with its massive scale are what seem to be driving its overall hype and engagement.
The game was in development for seven years prior to its early access release on Steam on June 15, 2023. The development team consists of just three individuals: lead developer SgtOkiDoki, 3D artist Larry (TheLiquidHorse), and level designer Vilaskis Shalashev, making this a purely indie production.
BattleBit Remastered storyline and gameplay
The game doesn’t really have a story in and of itself. It just involves two large armies fighting each other over numerous objectives. The story is what you decide it to be, and the memories you make while playing the game.
The release is still technically the game’s Early Access, so the developers are continuing to monitor community feedback and implement updates to make the game run smoothly. They also released a roadmap that details the current state of the game and what fans can look forward to in the coming months.
The game has eight modes, the four main variants of which are the following:
- Conquest/Infantry Conquest
- Rush
- Domination
- Frontlines
And it has three match size options (with the largest maps allowing up to 254 players), as follows:
- 32 vs 32: This is the lowest player count that can be in a single server. The action in smaller maps such as these tends to be more concentrated, allowing for a nice balance between squad play and general fighting.
- 64 vs 64: These maps are supposed to be a balance of fast action and slow-paced strategy. However, some of the maps in the 64 vs 64 mode are a little small. Be aware that the construction yard map is so small that it plays more like a team deathmatch than a tactical battle for the 64 vs 64 game mode.
- 127 vs 127: In these maps, get ready for an action-packed, chaotic, over-the-top gameplay experience. Matches in the 254-player conquest modes are very hectic, and it is easy to get lost in the chaos.
What weapons are available?
Like most first-person shooters, BattleBit Remastered features a large arsenal of weapons. More than 45 different weapons are available from the following categories:
- Assault rifles
- Sniper rifles
- Light machine guns
- Pistols
- Submachine guns
- Designated marksman rifles
Some guns are only available for certain classes. For example, light machine guns are only for support class, and sniper rifles are only for recon class. Furthermore, different weapons will become unlocked for players as they progress through the game, and the more a player uses a particular weapon, the more attachments become unlocked for said weapon. Players can then modify the weapon to suit their needs and playstyle. For example, players can attach a red dot sight and a 2X scope on their assault rifles so they can swap sights when needed. They can also attach suppressors to silence their shots.
Each weapon has individualized stats, such as: damage (and fall-off), ammo count, weight, recoil, rate of fire, and shooting modes. Each gun has two types of reload: normal and combat. The combat mode is faster and involves dropping your magazine (with whatever bullets remain inside it) to the ground. Dropped magazines can be picked up from the ground and refilled using the ammo kit, which is deployed by the support class. You can take time to combine bullets from your dropped mags into fewer, fuller magazines, but with 127 opponents baying for your blood, you will probably struggle to find the time.
What are the player classes in BattleBit Remastered?
BattleBit Remastered currently has six classes that players can choose from, each with their own specialties. To choose a class, a player has to first be part of a squad. Players can freely switch between classes throughout the match. This allows players to be flexible to match what their team needs. There are no limits to how many of a class can be in a squad, except for squad leader, of which there can only be one per squad, and these are selected by the squad owner.
- Squad Leader
- Assault
- Medic
- Engineer
- Support
- Recon
Maps and environment
BattleBit Remastered has 18 maps, and the environments are for the most part fully destructible, which ensures that no two games are quite the same. Some maps are reminiscent of the huge, old-school Battlefield 2 maps, where walking is not recommended if you need to get somewhere fast. In these maps, choppers and Humvees tend to be full of players moving between areas of interest. Other maps are relatively small, with a benefit that smaller maps allow for more tactical gameplay, because with fewer players across both teams, life expectancy for each individual player is higher. This means medics and supports can heal and resupply more frequently without having to worry about the downtime brought by death. Also, because smaller maps are less chaotic, a careful player will be able to get more kills and assists (and XP) than they would if they were playing in the bigger maps. Needless to say, both large and small maps are a lot of fun.
Vehicles
Due to the large size of maps, becoming familiar with the vehicles in the game is important. The game has dozens of vehicles of the following types:
- Transports
- Quads
- Tanks
- Sea vehicles
- Armored personnel carriers
- Helicopters
Proximity voice chat
BattleBit Remastered has incorporated a proximity voice chat feature that has so far been well-received by players. Comms made via proximity voice chat will highlight the speaker’s name in blue if it is a teammate talking and in red if it is an enemy player. Any player you hear locally will have their distance from you displayed live, which goes a long way in figuring out their position. Another unique feature is the death microphone. Essentially, this automatically sets your proximity push-to-talk to open mic for a few seconds after you die so that anyone nearby will hear your reaction.
The community seems wholesome so far, and strangers even go out of their way to revive you when you have been downed, which is a bona fide miracle in a first-person shooter. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a game this popular, BattleBit Remastered has a “Very Positive” rating on Steam with 19,260 reviews at the time of writing.
BattleBit Remastered is available now in early access for PC. The developers have no plans to release on consoles, but if you are looking for other exciting games to play on Xbox, don’t forget to check out the Xbox Games Pass, and see why Acer is an official sponsor. Several platformers are also included in the Xbox Games Pass along with hundreds of role-playing games and many other genres.
Ashley is a technology writer who is interested in computers and software development. He is also a fintech researcher and is fascinated with emerging trends in DeFi, blockchain, and bitcoin. He has been writing, editing, and creating content for the ESL industry in Asia for eight years, with a special focus on interactive, digital learning.
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