Take two. PUBG: New State mobile battle royale review

PUBG: New State brings nothing new to the table. It is a classic battle royale, a trend originally ignited by the debut of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG). In promotional campaigns, New State was billed as a next-generation action title, the dawn of a new PUBG era. Alas, that new era never arrived.

Battle royale

In solo mode, the player starts empty-handed, jumping out of an airplane onto an island just like 99 other combatants. The transport's flight path changes with every match, so one must choose the drop moment carefully based on survival strategy and knowledge of the terrain. Learning the lay of the land will not take much time — the game features only a couple of maps, and after about a dozen matches even newcomers can master the locations, provided they do not look for trouble and avoid engaging enemies immediately upon landing.

Even though the islands are large by mobile gaming standards, points of interest for players are scarce — mostly settlements, industrial hubs, and commercial zones. Weapons, armor, and supplies are scattered across numerous single- and two-story buildings in these areas. It is enough to arm more than one combatant to the teeth.

During the opening stage, firefights take place precisely in such major locations as players contest valuable loot. Newcomers will have a hard time in these spots. To avoid fights right at the beginning of the match, it is easier to choose remote small farms, gas stations, and isolated buildings as drop points.

Running into a real opponent in such places is unlikely; more often PUBG: New State will feed the player a bot or two who, after firing a single shot in the back, will freeze obediently awaiting their grim fate. There are not many of these poor excuses for fighters on the island. Subjectively, there are one or two bots per real player. Therefore, even an inexperienced player will manage to claim a couple of scalps before being taken down by a skilled rival.

Although the play area steadily shrinks due to the electric blue zone (in which you cannot survive long), enemies are rarely encountered in the island's desolate expanses until mid-game. So, after dealing with the bots and practicing reasonable caution thereafter, even novices can break into the top 10.

Toward the end of the match, the gameplay transforms, taking on the tone of a psychological thriller — within a confined space, danger lurks around every corner. Tension mounts, and specialized mobile gaming finger sleeves no longer seem like a gimmick. Without them, sweaty fingers slip across the touchscreen, driven by tension and cold sweat on the palms and forehead, while the urge to be the last one standing pushes every other thought aside. Achieving victory relies on natural luck and raw skill earned solely through playing.

Cooperative battle royale (the second game mode) differs little from solo play, but it lacks the psychological stress. Gameplay-wise, this mode wins out by having less mid-match downtime and delivering much more fun. Backing each other up, “squads” of four roam openly across the island looking for action, high-tier loot, and stragglers separated from their teams.

Well-coordinated teamwork is the key factor for success. Individual skill takes a back seat, as a lone wolf rarely wins the war. Naturally, in “randoms” (playing with matchmaking teammates), coordinating team play is not always easy, but when it works, matches are a blast. Because of this social aspect and resulting engagement, PUBG: New State (like other PUBG titles) leaves other mobile time-killers in the dust.

Alas, joining team mode as a solo player is tough. The matchmaking system often fails to assemble a co-op match in 5 or even 10 minutes. The global chat overflows with friend requests, but randomly assembled “friends” rarely save the day. So, it is best to invite reliable real-life friends to co-op battles rather than internet pen pals.

To hone individual skills and get an adrenaline rush, PUBG: New State offers a third mode — Team Deathmatch. At the time of writing, this mode is in beta. The atmosphere in these matches resembles a paintball game: in a tiny arena packed with obstacles, two teams of four clash in a deadly showdown to determine who is stronger within a set time limit.

There is no real depth to this gameplay, but it lets you pass the time, take down a few foes, and practice handling weapons and grenades properly. The touchscreen controls can hardly be called convenient. The player character has access to numerous possible actions, especially by mobile standards. Thus, those who want to be the sole survivor in solo mode are better off grinding combat mechanics here.

Weapons and gear

PUBG: New State features an abundant arsenal: from pistols to machine guns and sniper rifles. They faithfully mirror their real-life counterparts, although a red dot sight mounted on a Degtyaryov machine gun looks surprising. Furthermore, using scavenged stocks, scopes, and other accessories, players can upgrade weapon handling and effectiveness.

Ammunition, first aid kits, and other items must be carried on your person. Naturally, the higher the tier of the backpack you find, the more you can carry, but prioritization remains a must. 

Besides looting weapons and gear scattered across the map, you can replenish supplies by looting fallen enemies or ordering a drone drop. Delivery can be requested at any time using accumulated drone credits. Delivery is not instant; you must wait for the sluggish drone for some time, trying not to give away your position to enemies. The flying courier will not only expose your location, but it might not even arrive if an opportunistic opponent shoots it down to plunder your goods.

Vehicles

The play areas in PUBG are vast but barren. Moving across the island on foot is dangerous. Vehicle gameplay was already featured in previous installments of the franchise. New State stays true to canon in this respect as well. The game still lets you stage vehicular safaris in co-op mode, gunning down enemies right from the passenger seat. Vehicles in the game act not only as transport, but also as weapons (running down a straggler in an open field is child's play) and storage (players who enjoy hoarding can stash extra gear in the trunk).

Notable additions compared to predecessor games include electric vehicles, which make less noise—making it easier to sneak up on an enemy—and automated trams operating along fixed routes. The overall gameplay impact of both additions is minimal.

Technical performance

PUBG: New State was developed internally by PUBG Corporation using Unreal Engine. Unfortunately, despite the development effort and the chosen engine, which also powers the wildly popular battle royale Fortnite, the team failed to secure a flawless launch. Comparing New State to the earlier PUBG Mobile, players in App Store and Google Play reviews point out how unpolished the project is and are review-bombing it — sitting at a 2.9 out of 5 rating on the App Store and 3.6 out of 5 on Google Play.

iPhone 7 owners are especially vocal, complaining about muddy graphics, rampant bugs, and frame drops. Android users are somewhat more forgiving, though there are plenty of unhappy voices there too. On certain models, PUBG: New State either crashes at startup or exhibits terribly sluggish performance despite meeting listed compatibility specs, even though the hardware should run the game smoothly on higher settings.

During the review testing, PUBG: New State generally ran passably, though not bug-free, on medium graphic settings, delivering acceptable (yet modest) performance and framerates that only occasionally dipped to unplayable lows. The test device had 4 GB of RAM and an Adreno 610 GPU. Installation and launching also went off without major hitches.

Visually, PUBG: New State looks sharper than PUBG Mobile, but it falls short of the “ultra-realistic graphics transcending mobile gaming limits” promised in promotional material. As for the sound design, suffice to say it is functional — neither irritating nor memorable. PUBG: New State can even be played completely muted, thanks to on-screen map indicators pointing out sound sources such as footsteps, gunshots, or engine noise.

Monetization

At the time of this review, PUBG: New State is monetized solely via “cosmetics”—skins and items that alter the look of weapons and characters. Thus, players who prefer not to spend cash on virtual vanity items have the exact same winning chances as those funding the developers.

There is a battle pass and loot boxes holding new outfit pieces. To complete a full set, you will need to roll the dice at the local casino more than once. So if you decide to turn your character into a unique snowflake, prepare to invest both luck and cash. Approach these microtransactions prudently. Furthermore, if a child plays PUBG: New State, keep payment cards unlinked from the device. A coveted rare skin could drain a bank balance in seconds.

Otherwise, to reiterate, the monetization system in PUBG: New State remains among the most innocuous across modern free-to-play games (at the time of review).

Diagnosis

Following Fortnite's exile from mobile platforms, PUBG: New State's only direct rivals are PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, and the newly launched battle royale Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier. It is clear why PUBG Corporation rolled out another battle royale — PUBG Mobile was made in partnership with Chinese giant Tencent. They simply do not want to split the profits.

The “ultra-realistic” visuals fail to impress. The technical state is disappointing. In 2021, nearly every major release is marred by scandals over poor performance and bugs, yet publishers keep stubbing their toes on the exact same rock. It is a pity PUBG Corporation could not dodge that trap. Their partners at Tencent, by contrast, usually ship much more polished releases.

Perhaps in the future, gaining confidence and experience, the developers will introduce new modes, iron out the code, and win back the community. Many players still hold onto that hope. The global strength of the PUBG brand on mobile devices is so colossal that the game surpassed 20 million downloads in less than a week (with pre-registrations topping 50 million).

If one overlooks the technical issues on select phone models, PUBG: New State is a textbook battle royale containing all the traditional strengths and flaws inherent to the genre. 

Pros:

• It is PUBG
• Adrenaline-pumping Team Deathmatch mode

Cons:

• Technical issues at launch
• Microscopic gameplay changes compared to PUBG Mobile
• Lengthy matchmaking queue times, particularly during morning hours (on European servers)
• Uninspired audio and soundtrack
• Cluttered on-screen controls