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It always surprises me when one specific video game genre floods the market throughout the year. In 2023, we had some months packed with RPGs and fighting games. Now, in the first half of 2024, we’ve seen the resurgence of extraction shooters, which, until now, wasn’t such a big genre anymore. Thankfully, games such as Arena Breakout: Infinite have landed, allowing players to dip their toes in these chaotic battlegrounds. During my time in Arena Breakout: Infinite, I saw a game with tremendous potential, amazing QoL features, and surprisingly addictive gameplay that didn’t deter me from diving into the Dark Zone over and over.
A Punishing, Yet Fun Battlefield
I’ve played scary games, but extraction shooters are the only ones that give me a panic attack. As I entered my first match, I knew I was heading into PvP mode with a few hostile NPCs as well. Contrary to other recent shooters of this type, there isn’t a PvE mode. Personally, I don’t like that a game is strictly PvP. Yet, I can see how hardcore fans prefer it this way. In any case, I grabbed the weapons the game was nice enough to give me and spawned in the Farm area all by my lonesome.
Slowly, I approached the first house and opened its doors. I had no idea how to search most things around the zone. Thankfully, I learned the intricacies of the looting system and fell victim to my compulsive hoarding desires. I grabbed toothpaste, bolts, nuts, and everything else you could find at any flea market. Feeling a bit overconfident, I started sprinting only to see another player across the street; I froze. This was it. My moment to shine or ridicule myself in the first match. But just like my character, I held my breath, took a shot, and landed a headshot. Oh, how thrilling that was; my first PvP kill. I felt unstoppable. I strolled toward my victim’s corpse and looted everything. And, since I didn’t want to push my luck, I looked for the closest extraction point and returned home with 5k worth of loot.
Feeling like a bald John Wick (because I didn’t like any of the hairstyles), I jumped into my second tour. What could go wrong? I was able to headshot someone. So, I followed my previous routine. I entered the house, looted some cabinets, stepped out, and died. Yeah, that’s the thing: you can’t relax in Arena Breakout: Infinite. For a moment, I forgot I was competing against other skilled players. And even worse, against whole squads since I played alone at first. So, losing everything I had hurt. But, instead of feeling frustrated, I decided to return, brought my wife to play with me, and climbed that steep road to the top.
A Smooth and Optimized Experience
Since many already know what an extraction shooter is, let me describe why this one has everything to be one of the best: small QoL features. When I played Gray Zone Warfare, I felt extremely overwhelmed by everything. Despite the realistic systems, they were too convoluted. Building weapons there seemed harder than learning rocket science. But in Arena Breakout: Infinite, that never happened. It is packed with small features that make everything better. For example, you can use a search function on a weapon to find all of its parts in the market without memorizing the names. Assembling a gun is extremely easy, too. The menu highlighting compatible weapon parts is extremely satisfying.
Furthermore, during a match, you have a quick-treatment function. Are you bleeding out? Press V, and the game will use the most suitable healing item. Is your storage too cluttered? Press the sort function, and your OCD won’t kick in at all. And I know these all sound like insignificant details, but they aren’t. In this day and age, making a deep game accessible for everyone with these features is fantastic and something I can get behind. Even my wife, who doesn’t like shooters at all, had a great time shooting her way through these areas and looting everything she found along the way.
Regarding its graphics, they are not mind-blowing. Other extraction shooters are more impressive visually, but I prefer simple visuals to allow more players to join the fun. On the other hand, the spatial audio is a masterpiece. In these games, you must be able to hear every single thing, and Arena Breakout: Infinite delivers in that part. The shots you hear at a distance or the footsteps of someone approaching slowly toward you give you many layers of immersion that are hard to see in other games.
A Steep Road Ahead
My only complaint after playing Arena Breakout: Infinite is that it is extremely grindy. Yes, I know it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but there are serious issues with the game’s economy. Quests give you almost no money. You can spend three rounds trying to finish one mission and receive a 2k payment that only lets you buy a simple backpack. While you can sell your loot and even weapons you find, I still feel the developers should crank up those numbers. Otherwise, I fear for player retention, especially those new to the genre. I’m not sure if this was intended, but as a level 5, I was always paired against players with level 20 or above. While I could hold my own, some had much better equipment than me, and it felt a bit unbalanced as well.
Still, Arena Breakout: Infinite is a promising extraction shooter with fantastic QoL features and many systems that are easy for rookies. If the game’s economy gets balanced, I can see myself doing a few runs every day. The realistic ballistic mechanics, injury systems, and gameplay loop are engaging and addictive. Plus, it is a very optimized game, which, in 2024, might be something hard to ask. But here, I never experienced stutter, lag, or something similar. Overall, with a bit more polish, Arena Breakout: Infinite could compete against the biggest of the genre and make a name for itself in no time.
