PUBG on Xbox One X – Initial Thoughts

I found myself loading up my first match of PUBG upon the request of the internet barraging me with content focused on PUBG and the supposed glorious GOTY action (lul) found within it’s 100 player battle royale matches. The download was a mere 5 gigs which raised concern for what could have been removed from the PC centric game to be ported onto the Xbox One. Luckily there appears to be no tampering of the game other than the graphical quality which obviously has a lot of effect on gameplay.

While this may seem like a huge concern to anyone playing the game, I’ve found that after landing the graphics pop in and then the lag kicks in. I’m playing PUBG on the Xbox One X which may cause for varying experiences but I think the game plays in a fashion that is tolerable for a $30 title.

PUBG is of course, at its core, a battle royale game and with this comes the detrimental effects of a genre that depends heavily on chance when succeeding. This also introduces a lot tension into the game, will you find a pistol but then be confronted by a player with a Scar? I can understand how this might be alluring but paired with the lag it can be very difficult to outplay another player even if you wanted to.

The gun play found in PUBG is very frustrating and is my main gripe against the game.

“Well Geoff maybe you’re just fucking terrible bruh. Haven’t you ever played a third person game before?!” 

Yes, in fact I have. Of course, unless countless hours in Gears of War, Ghost Recon, and countless other third person shooters don’t count when in fact Quantum of Solace, released in 2008, handles better than PUBG. The game including the likes of a character named “Odd Job” can manage to integrate a system in which you can seamlessly handle first person to third person combat.

I will admit that, at times, PUBG can be very fun. Duos and squads are particularly fun depending on the team you’re with but can be very hectic when entering into the top 20. The chance to tactically survive 100 people is a thrilling scenario is very appealing but can often times be lost in the lack of vehicles across the map or even worse, you make it across the map to be killed by a bridge camper.

All in all I think PUBG is a great addition to Xbox and after some updates, will be an excellent game. I’m hoping the PUBG Corporation will offer a way to customize your controls in a way to counteract the poor controller scheme and provide a way to improve gun play in a game that can rarely have enough fighting to practice effective gun play.

I will continue to play PUBG as long as my friends continue to tag along. Now that Net Neutrality has been dismantled I hope you all have to lag as much as I do in PUBG but I hope my Xbox One X will provide me with enough power to overcome my enemy.

Prepare to drop in Rozhok.

Time to earn those lootboxes boys, L8r.

Score: Meh/10