Ghost Recon: Breakpoint had a Beta last weekend across PS4, Xbox One and PC and we here at Gaming Respawn got our hands on a code to test out this latest entry in the long running sub-series.
Following on from the realistic Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Breakpoint tries to really push the boat out with a very wild premise. The fictional island of Aurora has been taken over by an ex-Ghost group calling themselves the Wolves, and they are using the advanced tech of this near future setting against you. The Beta drops you into the opening two levels, and it’s clear from the start that Ghost Recon: Breakpoint will do exactly that: push you to the breaking point.
Cinematic Opening
The game opens with you heading out to investigate the goings on at the island, but your helicopter is taken out, and you crash spectacularly to the ground. Staggering out from the crash, all you have is a pistol and your wits to help you survive.You quickly work out this turncoat group has taken out a lot of your group, and you have to get to safety fast. When do reach safety with the local militia and a few of your group, you realize you really do have your backs up against it here.
Head out into Aurora and explore the island. In a similar way to Wildlands, to reach the leader of the Wolves, Cole Walker, you must first take out his lieutenants. Unlike Wildlands though, Breakpoint looks like it gives the player more freedom to approach missions how you want to, which is refreshing.
How Does It Play?
Now onto how the game actually plays. You can tell the game wants to have this survivalist element as you have to hunt down objectives without a HUD, having to rely solely on maps and pure exploration to find your way around. The game takes its progression system more from The Division than Wildlands as weapons and gear now have power stats. So far, there are no bullet-sponge enemies to contend with, but this could change later in the game. The character progression is more straightforward as it gives you skill points to put into a branching skill tree. There are new character classes that work well with different playstyles, but this game does play better as a stealth player.
When going out to explore, you need to watch out for all the drones flying about the place as, if you get spotted and don’t move away quick enough, the Wolves really do pounce on you fast, and you really need every bit of luck to come away alive. There are now new injury systems that can hamper movement, and especially when you get in these gunfights, it can prove to be an added worry for you. Your stamina is also not the best, so sprinting around the place won’t really be a valid option.
Overall, this preview really does give you the taste of being the oppressed and hunted for once, but none of the enemies were really so challenging to make the game too difficult. I suspect that in the main game there will be a bigger sense of dread, and the feeling of always being watched will likely plague you. On the whole, this was an impressive Beta for what is to come and really does whet the appetite as we wait for the full game.