If you’re a fan of the Battle Royale game genre but want something different, there are a few choices.
In this article, we take a look at some of the best Battle Royale games that aren’t PUBG. Some of the games on this list are free, so don’t necessarily even need to spend a penny to start playing any of these games either.
Without further ado, let’s start our list with what’s perhaps the second most popular Battle Royale game right now.
Fortnite Battle Royale
Whatever your thoughts are on the controversy between PUBG Corp. and Fortnite creators Epic Games, there’s no denying that Fortnite Battle Royale came in at exactly the right time.
Fortnite already had all of the mechanics necessary for a fast-paced arcade shooter – all Epic Games had to do was take Playerunknown’s Battle Royale formula and apply it to their own game.
That’s exactly what Epic Games did, and they then offered the game for free. We think that Fortnite owes a lot of it’s success to riding the wave of PUBG’s popularity whilst presenting itself as a free alternative.
Fortnite is still a very good game in it’s own right. It borrows a lot of concepts from PUBG, including the shrinking playable area and the rush to get loot at the beginning of the game. Fortnite even has a team and player downing system that is very similar to PUBG.
Even with that in mind, Fortnite isn’t just a cheap knockoff. This game caters to a new audience. The gun mechanics in Fortnite are more forgiving and there’s also plenty of room for fun with the building mechanics and jump pads.
H1Z1
PUBG isn’t the first time PLAYERUNKNOWN has had creative input on a Battle Royale game. H1Z1 was first inspired by PLAYERUKNOWN’s Battle Royale mod for Arma 3. (more on that later.)
Originally, the H1Z1 creators got into contact with PLAYERUNKNOWN to ask for some input on how to create a Battle Royale game.
The level of creative input that PLAYERUNKNOWN had on H1Z1 was limited, so that’s why he moved to Bluehole to have more input on the development of the game, and thus PUBG was born.
H1Z1 is a little rougher around the edges than PUBG and the number of available weapons is limited. However, H1Z1 has come a long way and many still consider it to be a great battle royale game.
We’d say that H1Z1 is a little faster paced than PUBG. You’re into the action far quicker and each match moves along faster too. If you’d prefer a fast-paced Battle Royale game that lets you jump straight into the action, H1Z1 would be the perfect game for you.
PLAYERUNKNOWN’s Battle Royale
The PUBG creative director PLAYERUNKNOWN has come a long way. Before working on Bluehole with PUBG and H1Z1 with Daybreak, he was responsible for creating Battle Royale mods for Arma 3.
This is where the Battle Royale genre was born. Back then, the mods weren’t nearly as popular as PUBG and H1Z1 are now, but they had a loyal following of players and were, without a doubt, one of the most popular Arma mods available at the time.
Arma has seen the creation of other popular games in the past, too. Zombie survival game DayZ, for example, originated as a mod on Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead.
Just like the original DayZ mod, the Battle Royale mod for Arma 3 is clunky and unoptimized. If you already have Arma 3 and want to play a Battle Royale game, you can head into the multiplayer server browser and play for free.
If you don’t own Arma 3, we’d suggest picking up either H1Z1 or PUBG, as they’re far more refined versions of the original Battle Royale mod and they’re also available for less than the base price of Arma 3.
The Culling
The Culling had an absolutely massive launch and was quickly one of the most successful battle royale games available at the time. However, as time went on, the developers kept making big mistakes by changing gameplay mechanics and removing features.
Eventually, the game that was almost so perfect became a mess, and its player base is now pretty much nonexistent.
There’s still hope for The Culling yet, however. If the developers work on bringing back the game to the developer’s original vision, we’d have something new and exciting on our hands.
The Culling is far different to any other battle royale game. Instead of using modern weapons, The Culling gives players a range of melee weapons and very primitive projectile weapons. There is a .357 magnum, an SMG, and a rifle, but these weapons are rare.
(Dis)Honorable Mention – Last Man Standing
If Fortnite wasn’t on this list, Last Man Standing may well be a good choice for those looking for a free-to-play Battle Royale game. However, with Fornite now available, Last Man Standing doesn’t really have any ground to stand on.
The game was created by the same people that created The WarZ. If you know anything about that game, then you’ll probably be wary of this game. Honestly though, it’s not that bad. Last Man Standing has decent gun mechanics and a simplified med and ammo system.
Looting doesn’t take long, so you’re able to jump into the action quickly. One thing that’s particularly odd about Last Man Standing, however, is the barricade system. Players can loot barricades that can be placed down as portable cover. They work similarly to the building mechanics in Fortnite.
They’re not implemented perfectly, though. Players are able to quickly place down a barricade within seconds, and they’re harder to break through than the buildable walls in Fortnite.
This makes it very hard to get the jump on players because people always react to any gunshots by instantly placing down a barricade.
Summary
Do any of these games interest you? Let us know which battle royale game takes your interest.