Why PUBG Is An Underrated Co-op Game

PUBG is widely considered the mother of all modern battle royale games. With its intricate gameplay mechanics, incredibly detailed map design, and emphasis on cooperative multiplayer, Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, or simply PUBG (before most recently settling as PUBG: Battlegrounds) has been a constant eSports and multiplayer staple since its inception. Despite sometimes being overshadowed by more popular franchises in the genre, PUBG remains an important early pioneer of battle royales and a solid foundation for new takes on the concept. Not only is PUBG a critical template for future battle royale developers to study, it is a supremely underrated game in its own right.

PUBG: The Original Battle Royale

Though its cousins like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone tend to have higher player counts nowadays, there is no doubt that PUBG had a tremendous impact in elevating the battle royale genre to new heights and paving the way for more like it. What started as a DayZ mod created by Irish-born developer Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene, has evolved into an estimated $16 billion franchise with millions of players worldwide, and remains one of the best battle royale games today. Even with steady updates and new content being regularly added, PUBG still retains the core essence of what makes it a superb game. One essential element of this formula is its incorporation of cooperative-based multiplayer gameplay.

Recipe For Success

The standard game mode in PUBG is your traditional battle royale. You and 99 other players drop from a plane onto any of the game’s many iconic maps and work alone or as a team to survive a slowly decreasing play area in order to be the last one standing. Now although you have the option to play solo against everyone else, the game truly shines when playing as a team. The use of good tactics, great communication, and most importantly, coordination is not only essential to attaining victory but also provides an exhilarating, rewarding experience as your team works together to get that chicken dinner.

Learning the game mechanics and having the willingness to work as a team will undoubtedly improve your gameplay experience, as will the solid gameplay itself that still holds up today. Even those who are more used to games like Apex Legends can possibly find a similar but unique level of fun within PUBG’s battlefields. PUBG’s specific battle royale formula provides a distinct experience focusing on cooperative gameplay that is unmatched in the genre.

The Art Of War

PUBG is a game that leans more towards realism than others in the genre, which means that running around like Rambo will almost definitely get you sent back to the lobby in no time. Taking the time to scope out a location before moving to it, putting yourself into the mind of your enemy, and knowing when to take the first shot are all important tactics to keep in mind while playing. When playing as a team, tactics like these become more imperative as one wrong move can result in an undesirable team wipe. Teams that plan out their actions and share information will have a greater chance of success than teams that don’t.

In PUBG, communication is key. Unlike the mobile version, the PC/console versions of the game have a lack of assistive interface features, such as gunfire indicators that show you where enemies are firing from, and footstep icons, which show you the general direction of a nearby enemy player. This means that you have a greater reliance on your senses, needing to pay closer attention to every sight and sound on the battlefield and be able to effectively relay this information to your team. Being vocal during a match has many benefits that range from letting your teammates know where a particular weapon is, to coordinating complex battle maneuvers on the fly.

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

From picking up the right weapon for the job to closely coordinating a flawlessly executed flanking maneuver with your squad like a Navy SEALS team, PUBG delivers a one-of-a-kind, adrenaline-pumping multiplayer experience that many game studios have tried to replicate. PUBG offers several beautiful maps to battle on such as the classic Erangel and lush Livik, which provide nearly endless possibilities of mayhem to dive into. The weapons and equipment have a nice variety and new content is periodically added to the game to keep things fresh. The emphasis that PUBG puts on teamwork and communication cannot be understated either.

With all the battle royale games currently available to us, PUBG should not be underestimated. Almost eight years later, PUBG still maintains a decent player count across all consoles and systems. Its massive success can be attributed to its tight gameplay loop as well as the cooperative playstyle it inherently encourages through its core design philosophy. It is definitely a game that must be experienced to fully appreciate what it is and what has come after. Whether you are new to battle royales or this isn’t your first chicken dinner, there is no better time than now to drop into the Battlegrounds.

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