Z1: Battle Royale (2018)

Why not? It’s free. Except if you want to customize your character. That takes some actual dough and earning customization in the game is honestly just too much work to bother. But that’s not really important. Nobody is going to comment how sexy your pants make you look when you’re dead on the ground. How could they anyway? There’s no voice chat proximity.

The PS4 version of H1Z1 Battle Royale provides a simple, streamlined experience with the thrills of the genre's high-stakes combat. Nothing more, nothing less. [OpenCritic note: Michael Higham separately reviewed the PC (6) and PS4 (7) versions. His scores have been averaged.]

While H1Z1: Battle Royale doesn't do anything particularly special yet, it sets up a solid foundation that can be expanded with future events and additions, a la Fortnite. It earns its battle royale name, but never tries to stand above the rest of the crowd, instead opting to play it safe with the basics. Without knowing if or when PUBG might come to PS4, H1Z1: Battle Royale gives players an ample replacement if they'd rather not get into Fortnite. Daybreak just needs to start hosting some interesting events and updates in order to keep players hooked and interested going forward. I wouldn't say no to a little bit of work on those visuals either. Until then, I think I'll just go watch the movie that inspired this whole gaming trend.

H1Z1: Battle Royale in it's actual state is quite good game. But if developers are willing to fight with PUBG or Fortnite, they haave to fix some of it's problems.

Solid is the word I would use to describe H1Z1: Battle Royale on PlayStation 4. It's not the prettiest of games or the most clever, but it does what it does really well and it is a great alternative for those who find all the tree chopping and base building in Fortnite very tiresome. H1Z1 is off to a great start on PlayStation 4 and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next.