It’s no secret that the release of this game has been very rough, having received such terrible scores that Ubisoft delayed every game they’ve been working on. The biggest complaints were the lack of realism and the unnecessary implementation of tiered-loot, as well as aspects of a looter-shooter. However, update 2.0.0 added in a feature that allows player’s to play more “realistically”. With this update comes the question of whether or not the game is good now, or if it’s at least improved since launch.
Update 2.0.0 added in an “Immersive Mode” which gives players in-depth customisation that changes the way the game operates. Players could now remove tiered loot from their game, disable seeing other players in the hub, increase or decrease the damage your character takes within the game, how quickly he loses stamina and the strength of enemy AI. There’s even an option to give your character many bandages or only a few throughout your play-through.
Having played Breakpoint when it first launched and comparing the state of the game now, it’s quite different. There are many differences, especially if you choose to engage in the feature of Immersive Mode. Gameplay was definitely more refined, and simply put, it was more fun to play. No longer was their constant pressure about needing to change my weapon every time an enemy drops a tiered weapon.
My character would take immediate damage when shot with a few bullets, he would begin to excessively limp and slow down until he’s patched up, stamina would drain quicker and finally, Breakpoint felt somewhat more realistic.
These were the features people saw in trailers, early gameplay footage and made the game strand out. People never wanted tiered loot in a Ghost Recon title because it doesn’t fit the scene. So, is the game good?
Unfortunately, despite these major changes, it was more apparent than ever that the problems were deeply-rooted. Ghost Recon Breakpoint suffers from a lack of creativity in its open-world, absolutely shallow characters and an even more shallow story. On top of this are the drone enemy AI, which break any illusion about the realism of this game.
Taking down a base of operation stealthily is almost impossible as drones are constantly hovering with the purpose to spot you. The problem is when taking these drones down, your position is revealed immediately. This isn’t even mentioning the bulky machines that carry machine guns/missiles that are impossible to take down stealthily, meaning your position is almost always being revealed.
It’s obvious the developers created these areas with the purpose of being taken down with stealth, but the way enemy-drone AI operate makes it impossible. Unfortunately, this isn’t a case of “git gud”, it’s a case of bad enemy design, as well as a bad decision to include drones. The reluctancy towards removing these drones from the game is quite shocking as this has been the biggest problem that players face.
Ubisoft’s biggest defence on their choice to have drone enemies was this:
In Ghost Recon Breakpoint, we’re summoning the devil. We really want players to have that feeling whenever they see a militarised drone. We worked hard to create these animalistic feeling. So when you encounter a drone, you feel that you’re no longer the hunter. You’re the hunted.Quote from Associate Producer Lucas Gissinger, Jr.
Theoretically, this may have sounded like a good idea and perhaps if the drones were better balanced, they could’ve been a really good enemy. Regardless, this is not the case with Breakpoint and it constantly shatters the illusion of “Immersive Mode”.
Until drones are removed from the game, or players are given the option to remove them, Breakpoint will always suffer from poor gameplay. The open-world also needs some serious livening and a better story needs to be added in for the DLCs, especially if Ubisoft expects people to pay.
