A new era is certainly opening up for mobile battle royale. After the arrival of Fortnite and the announcement of a Warzone for mobile devices, Respawn has indeed released the awaited Apex Legends Mobile, thanks to the success of the title on PC and consoles. These operations often have essential limits: on all screen sizes and on the optimization of controls. It often happens, therefore, that the line between an exciting new game on a smartphone and an ugly and unplayable copy of the PC title is blurred. Will Respawn be able to subvert this “preconception” of ours? Let’s find out in this new review, in which we tried Apex Legends Mobile on One Plus Nord 2, which has the optimized pro gaming mode.
What we will find in Apex Legends Mobile
What immediately catches our eye is that the whole experience of the Legends presents itself as something new. As if it were a spin-off game, which seeks no comparison with its console or PC counterpart. Apex Legends Mobile is indeed one stand alonewith its events, its updates and even an exclusive legend: Fade. This will be unlockable by getting all the various fragments and continuing through the levels by accumulating XP points. These will in fact allow us to unlock new game modes. Other known legends present at launch are: Bangalore, Bloodhound, Caustic, Gibraltar, Lifeline, Mirage, Octane, Pathfinder e Wraith. Each of these will be characterized by unique abilities and characteristics.
Once the download is complete (just over 2,70 GB) the game opens with spectacular cinematics, masterfully rendered by our One Plus Nord 2. This introduces us to the competitive world of Apex Legends, and guides us through a short tutorial that will show us the basics of the game. Here we will be able to choose between various modes of engagement (automatic fire, manual and custom aim). These are settings that we can obviously change later. After completing the short tutorial (about 5 minutes) it is finally possible to jump into the fray and play. In particular, we will have 5 modes available:
- Battle Royale: Classic Battle Royale, where the only location available at launch is World’s End. Here 60 players will fight for survival in teams of three, with the ring tightening more and more.
- Ranked match: unlockable from level 8, it consists of several seasons lasting about 2 months. Enough for players to rank and redeem the various rewards depending on the placement achieved. Players will be ranked in different grades (total of 8) depending on their performance in the game. To climb the ranks you will need to get certain scores.
- Multiplayer: features two types of team deathmatches (6v6) and an Arena mode (3v3).
- Tutorial and Free Trials: it will be possible to access the tutorial again and practice in Free Practice mode. The latter will unlock different missions according to the different levels reached, and will act as training and advanced tutorial in the game, both solo and in teams.
- Limited time mode: Available upon reaching level 5, this mode is the most frenetic. Fewer players and a small ring from the start of the game.
The Apex Legends Mobile gameplay review
If the initial impact made us anticipate and imagine a new game, optimized for smartphones and charged us with expectation, the gameplay experience has slightly disappointed us. Not that the game is not usable, on the contrary, but those ghosts that hovered in our premise return. As simple as the concept of battle royale is, the gameplay, fire, rotation, and weapon collection mechanics require stable controls. Packing everything (aim, fire, collections, special abilities, shield reloads and more) into a smartphone screen is literally impossible. Especially for a game that is all about spotting and taking down enemies.
Apex Legends Mobile, at launch, does not support controller. This means that in addition to fighting with opponents, you will have to fight intensely with touch controls. These are mappable, guaranteeing absolutely total customization, but the fact remains that several times there have been random shots, when in reality we just wanted to let our Legend run.
Bots, consumption and Battle Pass
The first games will be absolutely devoid of any enjoyment, given the almost absolute presence of bots in-game. They will shoot at us, and then let themselves be killed without selling their skin too expensive. In short, you will win easy, making you regret that dream of competitiveness that we had anticipated in the opening kinematics. It will only be by leveling up (and by a lot) that we will start matchmaking with other real players.
However, not everything is to be thrown away: the game consumes very little battery than we had foreseen, and allows us to switch between different views (first and third person), once again guaranteeing a high level of customization. From the menu we will then be able to access the free rewards of the Battle Passwhich if purchased gives access to extra loot and cosmetics.
In short, there is no need to be too bad in this Apex Legends Mobile review. The impression is that Respawn has done everything to make a good game that makes sense on Android and iOS. The problem is that you can’t have your cake and the Legend drunk, and the Battle Royale needs space. All the space that a smartphone screen does not have.
PRO
- Pleasant graphic rendering
- Various game modes
- Tutorial
- It keeps its identity strong
- It does not take up excessive space and does not heat up the smartphone (too much)
VERSUS
- It does not support external controller
- Difficult to play from a smartphone
- Confusing for beginners
- Troop bot