Apex Legends Mobile Review: The Resemblance Is Uncanny

Battle Royale games are in abundance on both
iOS and Android.
PUBG, BGMI, Fortnite and Call of Duty: Mobile
have carved up the territory between themselves,
which means a new game will have to offer
something exciting and unique.
EA’s popular BR game, Apex Legends, has
finally made its way to smartphones after
months of spending time in the rumour mill
and soft launch period.
But does it bring anything special to the
table?
Let’s find that out in our review.
Apex Legends Mobile lets you choose from two
control layouts.
You can then adjust the settings as per your
preference.
It also lets you choose a layout depending
on your play style — 3 fingers or 4 fingers.
I struggled with placing the abilities button,
since I always kept missing it in squad fights.
There are a lot of controls here, and with
bullets flying around, sometimes your mind
just gets confused.
Eventually, I found a layout that worked best
for me, and I was able to use abilities, and
switch between weapons and health items, more
swiftly.
The control mechanism in Apex Legends Mobile
is well-executed, but a bit overwhelming for
new players.
Controls are all over the screen and hence,
there’s a possibility that you mistakenly
tap one, even if you didn’t mean to, especially
during a heated situation.
If it is your first time booting into the
game, I’d suggest sorting out the controls,
entering the firing range to try them out,
and only then getting into competitive matches.
Communication is key

in the game, especially
in a chaotic title like Apex Legends.
Hence, Respawn has introduced a new ping system
to all the ports, and thankfully, it has been
added to Apex Legends Mobile as well.
With this, you can mark enemies, weapons,
health items, and ammo among other things.
The ping system uses your selected Legends’
voice to mark the items, similar to the original
game.
Gamers accustomed to the Apex Legends gameplay
mechanism will be happy to know that the mobile
version sticks true to its source.
Of course, there are some revisions and additions
done to the game to suit mobile devices, but
that does not hinder your gaming experience.
Jumping into a game gives you the same feeling
as on PC.
I enjoyed my time running around popular locations
in King’s Canyon and World’s Edge — the
two maps available as yet.
Gunplay in Apex Legends is also quite good.
However, I feel that the aim-assist is a bit
too aggressive, as of now.
The graphics are also polished and the game
gives you a couple of presets to choose from
depending on your device.
While the game is quite similar to the original,
Apex Legends Mobile has tried its best to
bring in something unique for smartphone gamers.
This starts with the mobile-first Legend,
Fade, who is close friends with the Void,
somewhat similar to Wraith.
Fade’s passive ability gives you a speed
boost at the end of a slide.
This power comes with a 10-second cooldown.
As for the tactical ability — Flashback
— Fade can go back to where he was a while
ago.
I found this useful, whenever I was stuck
between multiple squad fights.
This has a 20-second cooldown.
The final nail in the coffin is Fade’s ultimate
ability — it’s called Phase Chamber, and
it drops a cage, with all trapped players
being thrown into the Void.
It has a 90-second cooldown on Apex Legends
Mobile.
Playing with Fade was fun, and you can use
the ultimate to run from a fight or take an
aggressive angle against your enemy.
But choose wisely.
Apex Legends Mobile has also introduced Legend
progression.
With this, you can set up loadouts for each
Legend.
Legend tokens can be earned by playing and
winning games.
These abilities can only be used in casual
Battle Royale mode, and are not available
in Ranked matches.
There are a lot of ways to spend your time
in the game, be it solo or with a friend.
You can hop into a Battle Royale game or a
Ranked Match.
Apex Legends Mobile also has other multiplayer
modes such as TDM and Arenas.
It also offers Free Practice and Battle Royale
Event that consist of Armed and Dangerous,
Quick Battle, and Flashpoint modes.
You can also pick from two perspective choices
in Apex Legends Mobile: first-person perspective
(FPP) and third-person perspective (TPP) — the
latter was introduced in the PC/console version
as a one-time mode, and it felt awkward playing
that.
However, this is not the case with the mobile
version.
This might go back to my days of playing PUBG
Mobile in TPP mode, but I feel it looks comical
seeing Octane run for his life in TPP.
The game allows you to switch between FPP
and TPP, but only if you have entered the
game in the latter mode.
Apex Legends Mobile looks and feels a lot
like the PC/ console version, with a lot of
similarities and a few differentiating factors.
New introductions such as Legend progression
and the introduction of Fade show that Respawn
is keen on bringing something unique to the
table.
But the main question still looms, how will
it fare against the masters of mobile battle
royale games?
Read our full review of Apex Legends Mobile at G360.com and
let us know your thoughts in the comments
below.