Warface Breakout Review

Warface Breakout has arrived at a great window in the gaming calendar. First person shooters are my go to game of choice and I’ve grown up with them and thrive on the competitive side of online multiplayer. Whilst Call Of Duty has dominated the headlines for some time now its nice to have a game to turn to when you’re all burnt out.

When you think of first person shooters on console you immediately think of the big hitters. Call Of Duty, Battlefield, Rainbow Six and even now Overwatch. Its rare that new entries to this genre succeed to the strengths of these titles. Some try but many fail to break it, so it’s often a big risk for developers to invest so much time into attempting to make it big in this field. Warface may be a title that some of you may or may not be familiar with. Warface modelled itself on being a free to play game with PVP elements. It first launched on PC, later followed by Xbox 360 where it was pulled less than a year later. It then relaunched in 2018 to PC, Playstation 4 and then Xbox One. Nintendo Switch followed in early 2020. Without delving too deep into the original Warface I want to put this straight to bed early on and state that the game is a totally different experience to the original. Warface Breakout is pushed as a tactical shooter and it is important that we note that it totally detracts away from the original free to play title.

Now we don’t see tactical shooters on consoles very often and the only one worth a mention is Rainbow Six Siege which is unique in its own right. Warface Breakout has a Counter Strike feel to it and you’ll instantly notice many similarities. I’ve always wondered why Counter Strike never jumped on the console market, sure the Xbox 360 version of Counter Strike Global Offensive is still active and backwards compatible. But it doesn’t really have the same wow factor as CSGO on a high end rig. Warface Breakout is a welcome addition to the console market as there is truly nothing like this available on consoles at this present time.

Warface Breakout is developed and published by MY.GAMES. It has been designed specifically for console players and is currently only available on Xbox One and Playstation 4 at the time of writing. The release was surprising as we hadn’t really seen or heard anything about this title until it literally launched out of nowhere. So I’m going to nip this in the bud early on and state that if you have played the previous Warface game and you were inclined to say that it had pay to win elements to the game, Warface Breakout absolutely does not. Its important to highlight that everything that is unlockable and purchasable in Warface Breakout is purely cosmetic and has no direct impact on the gameplay experience.

Warface Breakout is also different in the fact that this time it is not a free to play title and it a game you need to buy to own. But at its extremely low price point of £16.74 at launch, it is similar to purchasing a indie game in today’s era. Obviously at this cost you’re unlocking the full experience and nothing is behind a paywall here. The developers at MY.GAMES have promised that additional content by way of maps and weapons will be available to all players so not to separate the player base. This also means you’re not expected to stump up more money to keep experiencing the full content. At the time of writing which is in its launch week after browsing the store and its additional content I can confirm it is all cosmetic items. My understanding that it can also all be unlocked by purely playing the game and hitting certain milestones and objectives too.

Levelling up in Warface Breakout will gift you a loot crate upon each successful rank unlock. Contained within this crate could be a skin for a certain weapon, a calling card, an emblem or even vest or helmet for your characters. Even though I haven’t reached it yet I have been told that the current level cap is fifty though I could see this being raised or some form of other progression involved. In this first week there is only a casual matchmaking option available, however there is a tab which states that “Season 1 is coming soon”. Season One promises ranked based gameplay and tournaments, which leads me to suggest that some prospect of a tier system such as bronze, silver, gold, platinum may arrive at that point. Similar to how ranked gameplay works on Rainbow Six Siege, continuously win your matches and you’ll climb the ladder. If you don’t perform so well then you expect to remain in the lower ranks. Many games adopt this system now even games such as Rocket League and Apex Legends and it keeps that competitive nature alive within this titles.

Now all the important talk regarding ranks, cosmetics and future content is covered I better actually talk about the gameplay itself right? That’s why you’re reading this after all. Warface Breakout pits you as five players versus another five, where you’ll be battling it out to plant explosives and destroy one of two locations on each map. One life per round, so if you are slayed by the enemy then you sit it out until the next round. The casual game mode which is the only one currently available is the first team to win eight rounds takes the glory. There are two minutes allocated to each round and it is worth bearing in mind that some rounds can be over in less than minute dependant on how aggressive the gunfights and teams are. That said if you are level pegging you could end up playing through fifteen rounds of this game if it’s neck and neck throughout. That could add up to a lengthy time of around 20-30 minutes so it’s worth bearing in mind if you are just looking for something to pick up and play.

At launch there are currently just five maps although more are on the horizon. The team at MY.GAMES wanted to launch the game and work and focus on getting things right before progressing with more content. There are 30 weapons available spread across the two factions known as the Wardens and Reapers. Both have a plethora of different weapons based on real life guns. You’ll see most of the ones you’ll be used to if you have played modern shooters, from the trusty M16 to the P90 SMG there is something for everyone. Weapons are separated into different categories to make it simplistic, pistols, SMG, Assault and Sniper. There is also a tab for equipment which contains body armour and helmets and also grenades which consist of explosive, flash and smoke.

My description of the map size is that of your typical Call Of Duty style average sized multiplayer map. They have designed the maps in such a way that you will encounter intense one on one firefights as you pass through narrow pathways or negotiate through other areas. All of the locations had a futuristic feeling to them but the design in general is spot on. There was no balancing issues with these maps and it didn’t appear as if either team had an upper hand based on which spawn they were coming in from.

Gunplay here in Warface Breakout I would say is the strongest element of the game by far. Warface Breakout is not a run and gun experience by any means. It requires thought, patience, planning and caution. If you’re used to the mechanics of first person shooters then you’ll find killing people easy enough. The steep learning curve here is adjusting to the variance of weapons, where to base yourself on the map and how to counter aggressive or patient players. Even for a veteran of this game type like myself I did find it difficult at first. It feels genuinely rewarding when you do perform well during matches though, killing enemies, gaining headshots and planting the bomb all earn you cash and experience. Different sight and optical options are available for your weapons here and they appeared to all be unlocked from the get go, this is a welcome feature as literally everyone has the same options at their disposal. Similar to Counter Strike here though is the weapon wheel where you select your gun of choice based on how much cash you have in your pocket. The first round is religiously played out with a pistol and the same when switching sides. Each round after that you can purchase a weapon and even a grenade of some type. Survive the round completely and you’ll keep that weapon for the next round. Hit detection and aim down sight options are spot on and there isn’t really anything to criticise here with the gunplay mechanics. There were moments at times though where I appeared to have the upper hand and still ended up on the floor. Though I can’t be perfectly sure if that’s me blaming the game instead of my ability.

There are some elements of Warface Breakout that are a little frustrating. I found the climbing and jumping moments a bit difficult. Sometimes it would take more than one attempt to get to a point where I needed to be or I would misjudge the height aspect and realise I couldn’t get to that spot. Again this is a learning process and not necessarily the fault of the developer but I do feel perhaps some improvements could be made in this area. There are some notable issues within the game which have been acknowledged by the development team on a few bugs here and there. One stand out one for me was when I backed into a corner of one of the areas the floor consumed me and I died instantly. I attempted the same feat again next round and it was deja vu. So clearly Warface Breakout needs some more work and polish, however all games in this era of gaming need regular updates.

Graphically the game is sharp, clean and colourful. Visually I didn’t witness any screen testing or framerate issues and it handled exceptionally well on my 4k Samsung TV using Xbox One X. There is licensed music throughout the menus and loading screens and thoughtfully they have made players aware of this if they are streaming or creating content in case their work gets canned. The development team have really focused on ticking every box where they can. I really enjoyed the music in the menus as well, I would describe it as techno dubstep style which really gets the adrenaline going or at least it did with me. Obviously it won’t be to everyone’s taste but this was a big plus in my eyes, it really blended in with the feel of the game.

My final piece of information is on the matchmaking. I was plugging away at this in the early hours UK time so between midnight and 4am. Consistently it was funding me a match immediately. This is a promising start as it is key that this title retains a community and builds upon it. The early start to this title will make or break the game and I sincerely hope it makes it, it deserves to! What I found surprising was the fact there is no battle pass element to the game. Personally I’d liked to have seen this as its a choice for players and always an incentive to continue playing something.

Warface Breakout is an excellent entry into a gap in the market on consoles. Xbox and Playstation 4 have been crying out for something similar to Counter Strike. Now we finally have something that is close to this mark and Warface have their foot in the door first. After reading the development teams comments there is much more to come to this game, the arrival of Season One, ranked matchmaking, tournaments, alternative game modes, more cosmetics and more. Its a promising start and the community appears to be building, the team at MY.GAMES can make this a real success in future I’m sure. It’s already proving a success as it managed to drag me away from Call Of Duty for hours on end. Something that hasn’t happened in gaming for me in nine months. Would I recommend this game to you, absolutely if you’re into first person shooters then its a steal at the cost and the game is only going to grow bigger and better with its current foundations already laid.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox One code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.