GameInformer talks Blackout impression on their latest podcast episode

❘ Updated: 2020-12-09T17:33:09

GameInformer has shared their latest podcast episode in which they go in depth on their impressions of Blackout. The GameInformer team visited Treyarch a while back and got to play Blackout for over 2 hours.

A user on Reddit summarized all of the impressions the GameInformer staff shared:

GameInformer stated that they didn’t know what the hype was like for this mode. Their cover story didn’t get as much hype as expected. One of them says it could be because of COD franchise fatigue.
Plays more like PUBG than Fortnite (like a super smooth PUBG). “Stable version of PUBG”
At one point, they mentioned that this is basically the better version of PUBG that console players have been asking for
As long as the beta goes well, Blackout will probably be a big success
The devs at Treyarch are really excited about Blackout
Played with full 80 players (studio heads, designers & testers)
Endless opportunities to combine different perks, equipment, vehicles, etc. to create a tactical advantage (chopper + sensor dart, RC car + sensor dart, etc.)
As the circle gets smaller, it gets more “intense” – more hallucinations & distortions in late game
Vehicles & equipment won’t work outside the circle
Vehicles are very easy to drive/fly – Land/sea vehicles use sticks to move forward/backward, not triggers
Vehicles are not difficult to destroy
Craziest moment in testing so far was a 3-way chopper fight in the air
Grapple Gun can only be used 5 times – all gear has limited uses
Blackout is the most diverse BR experience created (Each area feels organic in the world, but unique places to visit)
Bunkers below Nuketown that is partially flooded
Nuketown Sign shows number of players on the island itself, not the entire map
There are a lot of things you can interact with in the environment (like the basketball court in Estates)
Map doesn’t feel small at all. Feels perfectly sized for this game.
Sprinting from Estates to Factory takes 5 minutes – you have to be sprinting the whole time to make it in that time
Previous iteration had craftables where you had to find pieces to assemble different gear/abilities
AI Zombies show a beacon of light above them. 5-8 zombies total. Not a big threat outside of making noise to attract other players.
One size backpack – Navigating backpack/enemy death stash is very easy & intuitive
Quests to unlock characters – have to find an item in the map tied to that character (battery’s war machine) and do a specific task related to that item/character – higher tier skins have more difficult quests
“The game is about finding items, not searching for items”