“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”

In the current age of gaming, battle royales have cemented themselves as a genre that seems to get everyone’s attention, whether you love them or hate them. Some battle royales live for a long time with a healthy and growing community, while others die out for one reason or another. The giants such as Fortnite, Apex Legends, and PUBG didn’t just become popular all of a sudden. Their success was built on the growth of their respective communities of players and their constant stream of updates to keep their corner of the battle royale genre fresh to play.

With all that out of the way, what if there’s a battle royale that is a combination of all 3? Taking inspiration from the 3 greats but still becomes its own unique identity. How about Farlight 84? A battle royale game that builds on the foundations of the genre established by giants like Fortnite and PUBG, but it also puts its own unique twists on the formula.

About Farlight:

Farlight 84 is developed by Miracle Games SG and published by Farlight Games, Lilith Games’ Singaporean-based publishing studio. One game you may know that they published is Dislyte, a mobile Gacha game about ordinary people becoming awakened, god-like beings, gaining divine powers through divine sound waves.

Even though the Steam page of Farlight 84 says that it “redefines traditional gameplay,” it is more accurate to say that it builds on what past battle royales had already given. Taking inspiration from Apex with its ability-based heroes, the offensive and mobility-type vehicles similar to PUBG, and the chest drops system akin to Fortnite’s loot system.

Graphics and Audio:

The graphics and audio section is nothing to write home about, its user interface is focused on simplicity with how everything is positioned as it’s first and foremost a mobile game, and the game is amazingly optimized for mid-end hardware such as what I’m currently using. The graphics loosely follows a more cartoonish style and design akin to Fortnite but it’s a bit less vibrant with the default visual style but it can also be adjusted in the settings.

The audio and SFX meanwhile are pretty mediocre in my opinion, there aren’t any distinct sounds that I could say stand out and most of the gun shooting sound effects bar the shotgun and sniper mesh together into more of a default sounding sound so that every fight you do engage in mostly gets boring after a while as there’s not exactly any differentiating impact with how the audios play. The BGM and voice lines are quite good though, the voice actors seem very in-character whenever they speak and the background music fits the more post-apocalyptic theme that they have.

The Differentiating Factor:

With how I just compared Farlight to some of the greats of battle royale gaming, you might think that it’s just a hodgepodge of different mechanics that makes them unique. Farlight has the added benefit of being a much more dynamic and fast-paced movement shooter, thanks to the jetpack. The jetpack gives the player’s movement a higher skill ceiling, with one aerial boost and two dashes to displace yourself. It’s helpful in engaging and disengaging in gunfights as one sees fit, you could either surround the enemies with your teammates fast or dash away from an opening to quickly restore your health in a safe spot before reengaging in the fight.

Gameplay:

Farlight 84 is a game that doesn’t stray far from the default battle royale genre, but it also adds some unique features that make it stand out.

Firstly, the EXP system, the character you play, their shields and their weapons are tied to different but loosely connected systems.

• Character level is tied to how long you survive and how many other players you’ve defeated. The longer you survive, the more EXP you will earn, and the more players you defeat, the more bonus EXP you will earn.
• Shield level is also tied to how long you survive. As you survive, you will periodically give out shield EXP. You can also find shield EXP in stations, inside chests, and on the ground.
• Weapon level is upgraded by surviving long enough and with attachments. Attachments are found on the ground with differing rarity. The rarer the attachment, the better it is. Each weapon can be equipped with different attachment types, and some weapons can be equipped with every attachment.

Another system you will encounter when playing is that the battlefield is both against and with you.

• Early respawn: In the first two minutes of the game, you can respawn immediately with predetermined weapons and gear if you or your teammates die or get knocked out meaning that you are able to quickly reengage in the fight but this rings true as well as if you knock another player out early, be careful as they may quickly come back for revenge. In my opinion, this is a great addition for amateurs like me who can keep fighting even if we die the second we land.
• Random bombardments: Be on the lookout for random bombardments that happen near players with high kill counts. If you pay attention to the map, you can easily pinpoint the relative area where these players are. However, if you are the one with the high kill count, you may need to be vigilant as most people will come to claim your head.
• Supply drops: As with most modern battle royales, you can gain a very strong weapon and support items if you are able to claim a supply drop. However, be aware that everyone knows where the supply drop will land, so most people will fight for its content. Some may even snipe you from afar if you are too greedy. The supply drop will not open immediately, so you need to be stealthy when trying to open it as you are a sitting duck in the open when you do.

Lastly, this game is very easy to handle and control with its shooting and movement as this is both a PC and Mobile game that has both devices play on the same server. So to keep it fair, Mobile players have been given aim assist and auto-fire which can be turned off in the settings if you so wish.

Microtransactions[?]:

There’s a battle pass and two types of currency. Gold and Diamonds, Gold is obtainable through F2P and can unlock Heroes while Diamonds is the premium currency that unlocks premium skins and other cosmetics. The game pushes its microtransactions hard after you play your first few games, it’s how they make their money. The battle pass is 5.00 USD on Steam and with how easy it seems to get levels, I’d recommend buying it if you’re enamored with how it plays and are the type to sink in multiple hours into the game.

Summary:

While I’m not the biggest battle royale fan, I did have fun with the game. The stability of the game with how mostly none of the frame drop issues that I run into with other types of large Battle Royale games gives me high hopes for how this game could play cross-platform. While I have not played on mobile, most likely someone will and with what I heard from those I played with who played on their phones and tablets, it seems like it has been a smooth experience.

For my final thoughts, I would suggest this game to anyone who’s a fan of the battle royale genre for both PC and Mobile, just be mindful that there are predatory practices in play for their microtransactions, so spend wisely. Nevertheless, the game is fun, simple and a great way to de-stress after a tiring day since it’s very much configured to be a pick-up and play experience.

See you on the battlefield!