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My early look at Rumbleverse was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in a battle royaleLook, I’m as surprised as you are
Look, I’m as surprised as you are
When I finished watchingThe Game Awardsreveal trailer for Rumbleverse, the new Epic-published battle royale game that looks a bit like Fortnite but with melee combat, I raised a practiced eyebrow of derision. “Well, that looks terrible,” chortled I, knowing full well that I’d still give it a go at the earliest opportunity because I am an absolute sucker for battle royales.
Two things happened later that day that I did not expect. First: I got the opportunity to dive intoRumbleverse’saction-packed 40-player matches far earlier than I’d anticipated, as part of a one day early look at the game. I downloaded and installed it in short order, and jumped right in. Two hours later, at 1am in the morning as the servers shut down, I happened across a second, far more unexpected thing. I found myself absolutely desperate to play more. I’ve sunk thousands of hours intoApex Legends, Fortnite, Plunkbat,Hunt: Showdown, Warzone, and various other behemoths of the genre. Yet those two hours I spent playing Rumbleversemightbe the most fun I’ve ever had in a battle royale.
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You can pick up different power-up potions in a Rumbleverse match and drink them to permanently increase your damage, health, or stamina. You can only drink a maximum of 10 potions per match, and they’re tracked in the bottom-right of the screen.
Rumbleverse is the kind of game that will frequently make you belly-laugh even at your own death. There was one match where I became embroiled in this massive street-level free-for-all brawl with about six other players. Eventually it was just me and a fabulously-mustached bodybuilder remaining. I mean this guy was 50% muscle, 45% facial hair, and 5% spandex. For a long dramatic moment, we circled each other, both heavily wounded, respecting each other’s skill, each waiting for the other to make a move. Just then there was a wonderful hollow “THOCK” noise: some rooftop-dwelling fucker had hurled a wooden plank into the side of my head, knocking me out instantly. I howled with laughter. It might have been annoying if the comic timing hadn’t been so utterly perfect.
Chicken: the most valuable and fiercely contested resource in Rumbleverse.
Note: since this piece went live, we’ve been told that in addition to the Solo mode I played, there will be a Duos mode available when the game launches on February 15.
