With the announcement of Ubisoft Montreal’s Battle Royale Hyper Scape and Twitch drops enabled, here are five reasons It’s great.
5 – Map
Ignoring the grassy open plains of most Battle Royale maps, Hyper Scape features a fully urban Sci-Fi inspired redesign of Paris sporting its own Notre Dame Cathedral among distinct locations. The sprawling concrete jungle is a notable departure from other maps in the genre in that most buildings and landmarks tower over players with multiple levels of elevation. Gold bright panes of glass act as doors allowing players to quickly examine a district and determine if it has been looted. Pathways established between rooftops and train rails provide an advantage over players at street level. Jump pads littered throughout the metropolis allow players to easily navigate from district to district. These features combined with the abilities place an incredible emphasis on verticality.
4- Dead but not out
Hyper Scape refines the genre’s respawn mechanic by iterating on it through its virtual reality setting. Players take control of a ghost that can be faintly seen by other players with a gold shimmer. In this state, dead teammates can ping enemies and locations to serve as scouts, giving them a unique role with utility while spectating. If their team cannot reach a respawn station, they may defeat another team and the map will create a respawn station near them. This system gives gamers a better chance and keeps them engaged with the action even if they aren’t in it.
3- Hacks
In order to avoid being in that state too often players will have to master the diverse toolset at their disposal. In place of special abilities they can equip two Hacks as pickups. These can be as basic as health and armor, but players utilizing powerful setups have the upper hand. With verticality as the most integral aspect of it’s map design, mobility options are inherently useful. Teleportation is simple but short distance, while the ball provides a moment to be shielded for a moment while gaining momentum to bounce away. Evasion tactics are supported as well, with the Wall and Invisibility, offering opportunities to distract a team one direction with a wall while flanking another way. Hacks allow users to personalize their playstyle by mixing and matching whatever they’re comfortable with using. Hacks use a fuse system, allowing upgrades to hacks if you find another of the same type rewarding investment in the right equipment instead of the usual BR instinct of swapping to a better color.
2 – Weapons
Apex Legends players will recognize a few archetypes including the assault rifle and the magnum but players of tournament style shooters such as Unreal and Quake will be much more familiar. This gives Hyper Scape one of the most interesting weapon sets in the BR genre ranging from grenade launchers, miniguns, and snipers to energy weapons all of which can be upgraded with the fuse system. A perfect match to keep the pace of matches from stagnating into camping sessions. This style of gameplay suits the genre well, rewarding quick thinking and reflexes instead of lying in wait.
1- Twitch extensions
Hyper Scape embraces the twitch community with multiple options of engagement with viewers. One option allows chat to vote on certain gameplay modifiers that last a short amount of time such as infinite ammo or low gravity. Another lets viewers directly join sessions, providing for a mass mayhem experience. Hopefully the industry continues to see big publishers fully embracing the streaming community.
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