Apex Legends

Apex Legends' mix of exciting characters, excellent gunplay, and unmatched FPS movement keep it a consistently fresh thrill.

Apex Legends continues to be a superb battle royale game, but you do not want to play it on Switch unless that's your only option.

Apex Legends is a quiet revolution in how we communicate in games, and an excellent team-based battle royale I can recommend to anyone, caveat-free.

It would be remiss of me not to point out the small but diverse roster of characters in Apex Legends. Out of the current band of eight Legends, the presence of four people of color and two LGBTQ characters is a heartening first step. In particular, the mysterious hunter Bloodhound is probably the most — if not the first — prominent example of a nonbinary character in a mainstream shooter. Yet Apex Legends also faces the same narrative challenges that the relatively progressive Overwatch had with inclusivity. In a genre that carries a greater emphasis on gameplay rather than storytelling, injecting meaningful representation can admittedly be a trying process.

An immaculate battle royale that could be sold at a premium price point, but instead is one of the best free-to-play games ever.

Respawn successfully blends battle royale and hero shooters to great effect, raising the bar for free-to-play first-person shooters

The latest Fortnite competitor is a sleek sci-fi battle royale blaster that demands skill and rewards with exhilarating fun

Apex goes so much further, reaching into every corner of a well-trodden formula and lavishing it with saucy new ideas.

Ultimately, I'm excited to see Respawn's plans for the future. Although Apex Legends is fairly light on content at the moment, after having played it for over a week now, it's become my new favorite battle royale game. Matches are quick enough that I never feel burned by a sudden loss and jumping back in with different legend makes it more addictive than any battle royale I've played so far.

Apex Legends on Switch delivers the full-fat Battle Royale experience we know and love in a heavily compromised state. There's still fun to be had here if you can lower your expectations but, over time, the massive graphical downgrade and niggling framerate and performance issues begin to grate. If you've got no other choice but to play on Switch we'd recommend diving in and seeing how you fare before splashing any cash on paid versions or battle passes but, overall, this is a game that is best experienced on other platforms – at least until Panic Button can steady the ship somewhat with future updates.