Darwin Project

I don’t think I’m ready to move on from Fortnite, but Darwin Project is actually shaping up to be the more unpredictable and intriguing of the pair. It’s definitely lacking in the polish department, though, and its single mode doesn’t seem like the best way to enjoy the game. A duo mode with five teams of two is in the works, which I’m especially looking forward to as I hate playing battle royale games on my lonesome. I have nobody else to blame for my failures!

Darwin Project is a fun and bold twist on the battle royale genre which doesn't take itself too seriously. Grab your bow, your axe and getting out there swinging.

The original Darwin Project tried a lot of new things. This was a small-scale battle royale at a time when that was still fresh and new. It had survival elements, a combat system without firearms, and a “director” role calling the shots. It also had too many currencies to keep track of, loot drops that no one wanted to go after, and a slow power ramp that rewarded only the most skilled players.

Darwin Project is a battle royale that doesn’t properly reward the time you put into it, lacking in both incentives to keep playing and variety when you do. It definitely has a few clever new ideas and combat that’s fun, if repetitive – but that’s about it. As it stands now, without a Battle Pass to reward playtime, actual loot to make scavenging more exciting, or additional modes and maps to mix things up, it’s hard to recommend over the competition.

While Darwin Project seems to lack the staying power of other franchises, it’s certainly worth a few tries before the inevitable decline in players that was seen with the release of the PC version come to pass.

When Charles Darwin came up with his ‘survival of the fittest’ theory he probably wasn’t referring to 10 homicidal maniacs running around the snow and mutilating each other with axes and arrows. Yet here we are.