Darwin Project Review 2020
Released in early access in 2018, Darwin Project tried to cash in on the battle royale craze with its
own unique spin on gameplay. A single game has 10 players fighting against each other in a singular
map full of items and resources to be looted, with the option of an 11th player being "the director."
Each player is given the choice of picking between three different classes, a jet pack class, a
grappling hook class and a hawk companion class. With each class, the player is given a selection of
4 unique class abilities whereby 2 is chosen to be used in that game. Every player has the same melee
weapon and a bow regardless of class. Players have 2 important bars to manage, their health bar and
a bar dedicated to warmth. The warmth bar depletes over time and if it goes to 0, players begin to
rapidly lose health thus keeping your warmth up is as important as a player's actual health.
This game has a crafting system similar to "The Last of Us" where with a press of a button, players
have access to a scroll wheel of items and upgrades to be crafted. This crafting system uses two
types of resources an energy resource called Darwin and wood from trees. Darwin is used to craft the
player's 2 class-specific abilities and 3 class-specific upgrades. Wood is used to craft arrows, a bear
trap, armor and a campfire. The campfire is a key item that replenishes a player's
warmth but all other items such as armor and arrows also require wood and they are important too.
Crafting and looting comes with a cost though, every time a player crafts or loot, they leave behind
a clue that other players can use to locate them. Making it more risky to craft things and giving the
game more depth in strategy, in the terms of when and where player's craft.
Collection and crafting is key to winning a game because as the game progresses trees become more
scarce. The game is a battle royale focused on replicating the Hunger Games with their crafting
system and their unique mechanic of one player playing as the director who acts not only as a
commentator but also as the controller of the map. The director is given a set of abilities represented
by one-time use cards that range from closing off areas, spawning resources and setting off
environmental hazards such as lava and even shooting a nuke. The game evaluates their replication
of the hunger games by integrating with Twitch, giving viewers the ability to vote for which cards
are to be used by the director and how the cards are used, which can include giving specific players
resources or even healing them just like how the Hunger Games gave participants gifts funded by
spectators. The combat in this game is quite interesting due to the heavy emphasis on melee combat
with the use of abilities, especially class-specific movement abilities. To add a cherry on top of the
combat, the game has proximity voice chat, allowing players banter without hearing other players
not near you. Fights are intense and action-packed which is only heightened by the commentary of
the director and trash talk from your opponent. Overall all these elements add to very engaging
gameplay that keeps you coming for more. Just coming out of early access, the game still has a lot of
room to add more game modes and maps to keep things feeling fresh. Unfortunately as of this
moment players can only queue up in solos and the only way to play with friends is through custom
games. The customization of your playable character is moderate, with no battle-pass surprisingly
unlike most new free to play games. You can unlock skins by just leveling up and earning the
in-game currency from doing daily quests which are used for buying skins in the shop. Players also
have the option of paying for the in-game currency. In the end, Darwin project is a very good
battle royale that will appeal to those that like high mobility melee PvP games with a high skill
ceiling. This game is definitely worth a try even if you're sick of battle royales.
I personally give this game 9 / 10 in terms of how much I enjoy the game.
own unique spin on gameplay. A single game has 10 players fighting against each other in a singular
map full of items and resources to be looted, with the option of an 11th player being "the director."
Each player is given the choice of picking between three different classes, a jet pack class, a
grappling hook class and a hawk companion class. With each class, the player is given a selection of
4 unique class abilities whereby 2 is chosen to be used in that game. Every player has the same melee
weapon and a bow regardless of class. Players have 2 important bars to manage, their health bar and
a bar dedicated to warmth. The warmth bar depletes over time and if it goes to 0, players begin to
rapidly lose health thus keeping your warmth up is as important as a player's actual health.
This game has a crafting system similar to "The Last of Us" where with a press of a button, players
have access to a scroll wheel of items and upgrades to be crafted. This crafting system uses two
types of resources an energy resource called Darwin and wood from trees. Darwin is used to craft the
player's 2 class-specific abilities and 3 class-specific upgrades. Wood is used to craft arrows, a bear
trap, armor and a campfire. The campfire is a key item that replenishes a player's
warmth but all other items such as armor and arrows also require wood and they are important too.
Crafting and looting comes with a cost though, every time a player crafts or loot, they leave behind
a clue that other players can use to locate them. Making it more risky to craft things and giving the
game more depth in strategy, in the terms of when and where player's craft.
Collection and crafting is key to winning a game because as the game progresses trees become more
scarce. The game is a battle royale focused on replicating the Hunger Games with their crafting
system and their unique mechanic of one player playing as the director who acts not only as a
commentator but also as the controller of the map. The director is given a set of abilities represented
by one-time use cards that range from closing off areas, spawning resources and setting off
environmental hazards such as lava and even shooting a nuke. The game evaluates their replication
of the hunger games by integrating with Twitch, giving viewers the ability to vote for which cards
are to be used by the director and how the cards are used, which can include giving specific players
resources or even healing them just like how the Hunger Games gave participants gifts funded by
spectators. The combat in this game is quite interesting due to the heavy emphasis on melee combat
with the use of abilities, especially class-specific movement abilities. To add a cherry on top of the
combat, the game has proximity voice chat, allowing players banter without hearing other players
not near you. Fights are intense and action-packed which is only heightened by the commentary of
the director and trash talk from your opponent. Overall all these elements add to very engaging
gameplay that keeps you coming for more. Just coming out of early access, the game still has a lot of
room to add more game modes and maps to keep things feeling fresh. Unfortunately as of this
moment players can only queue up in solos and the only way to play with friends is through custom
games. The customization of your playable character is moderate, with no battle-pass surprisingly
unlike most new free to play games. You can unlock skins by just leveling up and earning the
in-game currency from doing daily quests which are used for buying skins in the shop. Players also
have the option of paying for the in-game currency. In the end, Darwin project is a very good
battle royale that will appeal to those that like high mobility melee PvP games with a high skill
ceiling. This game is definitely worth a try even if you're sick of battle royales.
I personally give this game 9 / 10 in terms of how much I enjoy the game.
7.9/10 needs more water
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