There were desperate scenes at the end of our Sunday Warzone session, in one of those games where nothing goes . Having burned through their gulag opportunities, my squadmates had died for good, leaving me the sole survivor – and also the one required to scrabble around for cash to buy them back. Easier said than done when everything’s been stripped as bare as a supermarket toilet roll aisle.
With my squadmates watching, I had the weight of their expectations on my shoulders: and a previously-bombastic battle royale evolved into pure horror. I had minimal equipment cobbled together from whatever I could find on the floor. Outside, the ominous green gas circle had fallen on an area with no shop, ruling out the chance of backup. And there were people everywhere. Crowded into a tiny circle, my every movement was about avoiding detection, finding cover, listening for footsteps, or wedging myself in-between crates as two teams exchanged bullets down a corridor.
Eventually, the gas cloud forced me into the open: and with a small amount of screaming, I launched myself towards the next building, spotting other teams sprinting alongside me (prompting more screams) until I was finally caught out rounding a corner, ending our squad’s dreams with a mighty yelp.
Thanks to my cowardly tactical approach, I landed our team a respectable third-place finish, one that also provided endless entertainment as my friends watched me panic my way through the final stages. Yet it seems most Warzone squad matches end up being almost nightmarishly intense in nature, whether the full team’s there or not. And while it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I kind of love it.
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Part of the reason for this comes down to Warzone’s pacing, which ramps up unlike any other battle royale I’ve experienced. Matches typically have a busy start due to everyone landing with pistols, with most teams choosing to drop straight down from the plane to avoid a slow parachute descent. Yet once the first squads are down, the matches evolve to a quieter stage where everyone sneaks around the vast map. These slower sections of sniping and maneuvering are somewhat similar to PUBG, but they’re particularly eerie in Warzone – I frequently get spooked by wolf howls, creaking wood, or the sound of my team’s footsteps (something that probably needs tweaking, actually). It’s the calm before the storm, and when the storm does arrive, oh boy.