The FPS genre is one of the biggest gaming genres, dominated by games such as Call Of Duty and CS:GO, but it is surprising that there are very few FPS games on the Nintendo Switch, especially online shooters. There are some awesome FPS games on the Nintendo Switch such as Doom (2016), but when it comes to online PVP shooters, there is really only Overwatch and a small handful of others. Warface now looks to fill the FPS gap that is left by the lack of games like Call Of Duty by potentially becoming the best FPS game on the Nintendo Switch. The best part is that it’s absolutely free, too!
Graphics
Graphically the game is…well…it’s not fantastic, at times. The graphics are more than passable, the characters look decent enough, the guns look fine, the environment is alright. But there are some instances such as the gravel terrain that looks like its ripped straight out of a mobile game. I suspect the game looks vastly better on other platforms such as PC, but it doesn’t look too bad and more than playable, just don’t expect Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare graphics.
Frame Rate
As a Fortnite player on the Nintendo Switch, I am always very mindful of frame rates. The game plays at 30fps, with some frame drops here and there. Some games such as Diablo 3 play at 60fps, but for a fast-paced FPS game, I expected 30fps because, as much as I love the Switch, it is just a glorified tablet that isn’t too powerful unless you really know how to make the most of what’s under the hood. The frame drops weren’t too frequent, in my experience, but did happen from time to time.
Gameplay
Now, this is where the game truly shines. As I mentioned before, the game is free to play and has a lot of content from PVP modes such as Team Deathmatch, Free For All and various bomb planting, base capturing modes etc. The Switch port does have fewer game modes than other platforms, though; it has 6 modes whereas other platforms have 10, including a Battle Royale mode. The game also has 2 co-op modes too: a regular co-op mode where you play through missions completing various objectives and a Spec-Ops mode, with missions that take considerably longer to complete than the regular co-op missions. These also tell a story, complete with narrative in the form of a comic book. These are really fun to play and are really diverse with a lot of different elements to them. You start the Spec-Op mode on Mars with laser rifles fighting aliens and droids, far different than what you’d expect from a Call Of Duty-style game. One thing to note is that these co-op missions have to be played online, meaning you have to get matched up with a team of players. I’m not sure if you would get AI characters should there be no-one to match with or if you’d just be stuck in an endless queue trying to find a lobby. The game has only recently released, so it has plenty of players playing, but I’m not sure how popular the co-op missions will be long-term, so hopefully this won’t become an issue in the future. I also hope they continue to add more missions, too, because they’re really fun and a great change of place from just cycling through the PVP modes.
Speaking of the PVP modes, I had so much fun with these. I am not a huge player of games like Call Of Duty & CS:GO, so I’m not the best player in the world, but I was able to immediately jump in and have fun. The game plays a lot like a Call Of Duty. During the tutorial, I didn’t even need to look at which button to press when performing actions because the buttons are mapped in a very standard way, so you can jump in without any practice. It also incorporates some fun mechanics such as sliding, which has previously been done in games such as Black Ops 3. As I mentioned, I’m not a big FPS player, but on my 3rd match ever and 1st Free For All match, I was able to win with a score of 50/21. This game is really easy to pick up to play, but I also suspect my luck was due to the skill level of Switch players generally being lower. That’s why I play Fortnite on Switch—because I suck too much to hang with PC players.
Character customization is also what you’d expect from a game like this. You can unlock new weapons, armour etc as you progress and you also have a variety of classes to choose from such as Medics, Engineers etc. Each class has their own weapon of choice; the Medic uses a shotgun, the Engineer uses an SMG etc. Each also have their own perks; Medics can heal themselves or teammates as well as reviving, Engineers can plant mines and so on. My favourite class is the Medic. In a close-quarters FPS game, the shotgun is a really great weapon to use, as a lot of the fights will be close range.
There is also a great selection of maps, with most being tied to just 1 or 2 game modes, meaning you won’t always just cycle through the same handful of maps. You can also vote for the next map after the current match ends. It appears there will be a Battle Pass too (fairly standard in F2P games) but it is currently not available. I imagine it will become available later as the Switch port is new. The Battle Pass may be out on PC and other consoles, but I can’t confirm.
Overall, I think the gameplay shines and the variety of PVP and PVE modes really help it excel. Character customization is great, too, and the maps are plentiful. I have little complaints about the gameplay aspect.
Micro-Transactions
As with most F2P games, micro-transactions are present, as its how the company makes its money, and Warface got it almost right. I am against any micro-transactions which are pay to win, and Warface kind of has them but not in a hugely game-breaking way. The game has 3 forms of currency: Warface Dollars and Crowns which are earned in-game and are used to purchase upgraded weapons, armour etc, and Kredits which are bought with real money. Kredits can be used for premium cosmetics as well as renting guns. Guns can either be purchased permanently using Warface Dollars and Crowns or bought for 2 hours using real money, almost like demoing a weapon before spending in-game currency. While this is kind of pay to win, I wouldn’t necessarily say it is. You could purchase the best guns in the game, but only for a couple of hours. I can’t really say it being that much of a factor, as most guns are easily obtainable with a few hours of play. It does mean more experienced players will have better guns, making you easier to kill, but it is like that with games such as Call Of Duty, too. Overall, the micro-transactions are mostly fine. Cosmetics are fine, as it helps keep the game alive. I don’t believe in purchasing weapons, but I’m glad the developers only made it a short-term rental purchase and not allowing someone to buy the best loadout permanently.
Final Thoughts
Warface is a very well put together game that has the potential to become a top game on the platform. The game has a lot of content that you’d expect from an FPS game while also including fun elements such as the Spec-Ops missions. This isn’t something I expected from a F2P game, but they will be a big reason why I will keep coming back. The game could look better, but for a Nintendo Switch port, its as expected, really, and doesn’t hold back the game. As time goes on, I imagine things like potential frame drops will be ironed out as well. If you have a Nintendo Switch and enjoy FPS games, I recommend you try it. Its free, after all, so what do you have to lose?
[penci_review]
Warface is available for free on Steam, PS4, Xbox One & Nintendo Switch.
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