Like a soldier thrown from the sky in search of death and glory, it landed last week on Steam Early Access, and more to the point, it landed in good shape. The trick is having a good hook, and throwing that into the mix with an enjoyable and solid version of the game.ĭefine Human Studios has done just that, and Islands of Nyne: Battle Royale (or ION as we'll call it from now on) is the developer's answer to PUBG and all the rest.
It's a challenge, then, but it's not impossible, and while we've had a couple of high profile failures, other games like Crytek's Hunt: Showdown have shown that there's room within the relatively tight confines of the genre to innovate. The struggles of both The Culling (and its ill-fated sequel) and Radical Heights have proven just how tough a nut the genre is to crack, illustrating what a daunting task it is to take on the big guns and survive, let alone thrive. Despite this being boomtime for the battle royale genre, with Fortnite and PUBG headlining an increasingly vibrant scene, game development remains a precarious business.
