As we enter the seventh year of PUBG's existence, the fundamental question arises: In 2023, is it still a game worth dedicating your time to?

While the initial groundbreaking phase is over, the game has seen a multitude of changes since its release in 2017. In this review, we'll look at the current state of the game objectively, exploring its gameplay, story, graphics, and developer support. So gear up and join us on this journey as we delve into the world of PUBG 2023. 

About PUBG

PUBG: Battlegrounds is a competitive PVP survival shooter that takes players into an intense last man standing battle. It has been the first of its kind and the founder of the battle royale genre; sparking a gaming revolution upon release back in March 2017. Within its first month, PUBG sold over one million copies, which was the fastest time for an Early Access title to reach that number in sales. It continued to climb the charts swiftly and collected several Guinness World Records.

The game was originally developed by Bluehole Ginno Games, a South Korean studio that was later renamed PUBG Studios, following the massive commercial success of the game in 2017. A year later, in 2018, the studio advanced to a holding company named Krafton and was thus published under this name.

The masterminds behind that novel gaming experience were Brendan Greene and Chang-han Kim. Greene, who came up with the idea of a battle royale survival shooter, was approached by the executive producer, Kim. He was eventually given the position of creative director, where he remained until he left the studio in March 2019 to start working in Amsterdam on an open-world sandbox project.

The community responded positively after the release of PUBG. It was praised for its novelty, offering a fresh and unique gaming experience. Popular Twitch streamers and other content creators played an important role in the success of PUBG as well. To this day, it holds the Steam Top Record for 3.2 million peak players on a single day in January 2018. However, to put it in perspective, this is roughly the number of daily Fortnite players in 2023.

Nevertheless, PUBG holds its own in the ranks among other heavyweights in the gaming industry, such as Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and Apex Legends. Before diving deeper into the game, let’s find out something about the story behind the first battle royale game.

PUBG Story

While there is no story plot in PUBG, the whole idea behind battle royale is based on a dystopian-horror novel from Koushun Takami. In his bestselling 1999 book, Japanese students are forced to kill each other on an island under control by a brutal totalitarian government. The novel was made into a film just a year later. In 2009, Quentin Tarantino declared Battle Royale as his top film choice from the previous 20 years.

Interestingly, Takeshi Kitano was a part of the cast. He plays the head instructor of the battle royale program named “BR Act”, which was implemented by the oppressive government to tackle juvenile delinquency among the Japanese youth.

For anyone who is not familiar with Takeshi Kitano, he is the host of the popular game show Takeshi’s Castle, which was shown between 1986 and 1990. In this show, contestants were forced to overcome diverse physical challenges. This resulted in some of the most hilarious scenes from that era, where contestants were constantly knocked off their feet by rotating styrofoam objects.

At the end of every episode, the last “survivors” had to fight Takeshi himself in a battle tank. Who knows, maybe he is the actual mastermind behind battle royale?

PUBG Developer 

Well, apparently Brendan Greene is credited as the inventor of the battle royale game and is known for his online alias, PlayerUnknown. Around 2013, he created the ARMA 2 DayZ: Battle Royale mod, and in the following years, his idea grew even more complex. At one point, he was hired by former Sony Online Entertainment, now Daybreak Game Company,to work as a consultant for the development of H1Z1: King of the Kill, which was a battle royale version.

However, shortly after its release, Greene was approached by Chang-han Kim to develop PUBG. In collaboration with Kim, he was able to turn his dream into reality. That is how the story unfolded.

In the beginning, PUBG used to be very buggy. There were too many technical issues that took a long time to be fixed. The game crashed frequently, which was very frustrating, especially when the game was in the final stages. Basically, it occurred at least once a day when you were playing the game. You were able to log back in, but by that time your squad members had reported you drowning in the sea, because your game crashed while driving a vehicle. Notably, it didn’t draw too many players away. 

The game runs stably now, with game crashes being very rare. However, the overall game performance unfortunately never reached its full potential.

Looking at the various game improvements, bug fixes, and road maps over the years, you get the idea that the developers do consider the community in their management decisions. The game regularly gets updated, and for each new update, an extensive patch report is available as well as a roadmap for 2023. That gives players a reason to remain loyal to the game in the long run. But the actual essence of PUBG is the gameplay. 

PUBG Gameplay 

The gameplay of PUBG is relatively straightforward. 100 players drop out of the plane to freely search the map for loot in order to survive an ever-decreasing circle. This forces players to inevitably bump into each other and ultimately face off in decisive close-quarters combat. The winner gets the chicken dinner. Win the dinner, or die trying.

The replayability of PUBG appears to be virtually limitless, as each game unfolds uniquely. With eight diverse maps and random circle placements, players are constantly faced with novel combat situations. As the circle continually closes, players must make swift tactical decisions, which could be a key factor in the game's enduring appeal. Questions like "Which side of the circle should we choose?" and "What's the optimal position?" fuel the excitement and cater to those who crave challenges and thrilling experiences.

However, the sometimes overly large map size can be a drag at times. You loot for 20 minutes, engage in the first fight, and head back to the lobby instantly. This is a common issue for many players. This is why the official roadmap for 2023 includes a plan for quicker circle closures at the beginning, which speeds up the entire game process. There will also be more vehicle spawns and, generally, more loot across all maps. This is supposed to lead to a much more action-filled gaming experience eventually. 

Ultimately, PUBG is unforgiving. Any mistake made sends you on the fastest way back to the lobby. This is why there is ongoing talk about easing the gameplay, by means of introducing mechanisms to get back your fallen squad members, as it is the case with Fortnite and Call of Duty. But this raises another question: will PUBG be the same? It has never been a walk in the park and the harder you fight for a chicken dinner, the more satisfying it will be once you get it. Tough call.

However, the raw and bare-knuckle gameplay is mostly due to its puristic combat system. 

PUBG Combat

PUBG is a survival shooter that can be played both in first-person and third-person perspectives. It features realistic gunplay, including bullet drops, strong weapon recoil, and no aim assist at all. Only bare skill and the need for composure.

The weapons are based on actual real-life weapons and their particular characteristics, e.g. higher recoil with weapons of higher caliber. For some weapons, it takes a considerable amount of time to finally shoot precisely. It requires practice - a great deal of practice.

The movement can be too realistic at times. Jumping a wall, climbing through an open window, getting up from prone, all these movements happen very slowly and you are unable to do anything about it. It’s neither fast-paced, nor fluent.  

Considering its multiplayer aspect, you are able to play normal games solo, duo, or squads, while in the ranked mode you are only able to play in squads. There is no skill system to level up your character, and luckily, paid elements to unfairly improve your gameplay are non-existent.

Overall, the combat system is difficult to learn due to its realistic nature. Yet, once you master it, hitting a moving target in the head becomes a rewarding experience. Even the best players in PUBG have rounds where they end up on the 67th place without a kill.  

PUBG Graphics

PUBG utilizes one of the best engines available, the Unreal Engine 4. It was created by Epic Games and released back in 2014. It supports a wide range of platforms, including PCs, consoles, and mobile devices.

However, the graphics in PUBG are not as visually appealing as in other comparable games, such as Fortnite and Apex Legends. In these games, graphics are colorful and vivid, whereas in PUBG, the surroundings are dull and the visuals are much murkier.

The map used to be scattered with rough edges, which had the ability to make your vehicle explode in an instant. Fortunately, only a few of those nasty traps remain. Smooth.

All in all, PUBG manages to present an immersive world for an authentic and thrilling battle royale experience.

PUBG Price

Though the graphics may not be its strongest point, PUBG compensates with the pricing model.

Since January 2022, PUBG has been free to play. There is no need to complain about bad graphics any more. The game is available on PC, Xbox One, PS4, Android, and iOS. Currently, there are no pay-to-win elements, and it most likely remains that way. If you want to support the developers, you can buy a season pass, which allows you to unlock new loot items, weapon skins, emotes, and other elements. There is a shop as well, where you can specifically buy fancy skins and items.

So with all this in mind, let's proceed to the final part of this review. 

Conclusion

PUBG is the pioneer of the battle royale genre. It was an important game changer in the world of online shooters and paved the way for other successful games in the following years. Until now, its intense, challenging, and thrilling gaming experience has driven players to re-enter the plane over and over again, despite its often sobering potential. So is PUBG still worth playing in 2023? The answer is yes. 

Briefly summarized, all pros and cons:
 

Pros 

Endless replayability, once you are happy to play, it never gets boring. The game remains an ultimate challenge.It really is hard to get the chicken dinner, but if you eventually get it, you achieve a true sense of accomplishment. The realistic, puristic gameplay is for everybody who is a fan of realistic weapons and environments. The development team is constantly improving the game, continuously adding value without spoiling the game.

Cons

High entry barriers for new players exist, even though there is support through tutorial and training modes, it is very hard to get a grip on the game. The graphics are really mediocre and not compelling at all. You need to be able to tolerate frustration, even though you spend thousands of hours playing the game. Its mechanics are somewhat laggy in terms of movement. Sometimes you get stuck during combat or while driving.

Overall score: 8.5/10.