Many were skeptical about Cyber Hunter when it was first announced. After all, developer NetEase had already had a battle royale release: Rules of Survival, which was basically PUBG but was nowhere near as good.
So, it’s understandable that not a lot of people were too excited about a supposedly Fortnite clone coming to Android. Surprisingly, though, Cyber Hunter is so much more than “just another Fortnite clone”. It brings some serious innovation to the battle royale genre.
In fact, the game doesn’t really resemble Fortnite to begin with. You won’t be spending time erecting massive structures or hitting rocks and trees with a pickaxe to gather resources. In this game, there is only 1 resource that can be used to build everything: Quantum Energy.
You obtain this resource the same way you do your weapons and gear. It’s scattered around the map and you simply have to walk over it to automatically pick it up.
A building system similar to Fortnite, but more streamlined
Your building ability is limited, too. Instead of choosing whether to create a building out of wood, brick, or metal, you pick up to 3 preset structures to bring into the match with you.
There’s a massively wide collection of these presets, though, from a simple barricade to a machine that provides AoE healing. Finding your favorite 3 out of the plenty of skills that you’ll grant access to as you progress is not only incredibly fun, but also adds a level of strategy to pre-match preparation.
Moreover, this mechanic encourages teamwork. Ideally, you could establish a squad in which each member is focuses on just one role, be it healer, builder, destruction specialist, or maybe even vehicle summoner.
While this whole preset thing does take away a bit of the creativity that you see in Fornite, it is a solid innovation that takes building in battle royale games down a different road, one that is no less strategic and entertaining.
When you’re not spending Quantum Energy to build stuff, you’ll be doing pretty much the same things you do in other battle royale gamess.
The aesthetics are fresh and well done
You’ll choose to land on a huge map, only this time, instead of parachuting from a plane or a bus, you will be jumping onto a hoverboard and speed towards the ground. The sci-fi theme actually brings a breath of fresh air to the genre, despite the fact that the colorful visuals do make people think of Fortnite.
And much like in Fortnite or PUBG, the best loot are often found in named locations. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from landing somewhere relatively safe and ambush other players to rob their better loot either. It’s entirely up to your playstyle.
The best part of the game is probably traversing its map, though. Every moment just feels so smooth and fun. You can scale basically any surface, glide to get to high places, and even roll to dodge enemy gunfire. In fact, you could compare the movement mechanics of Cyber Hunter to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and that should tell you something about the quality of this game.
There’s just so much freedom. While hiding and ambushing unaware people is still an option, you’ll feel more confident than ever before running around seeking enemies to slay.
The sheer number of options available encourages you to fight
Even if you get yourself into trouble, there are still many things you can do to get out of harm’s way and maybe even turn the table on your opponents. For example, you could whip out a barrier to protect yourself while you return fire, force enemies away with a barrage of grenades, or use the climbing ability to get the high ground. And if for some reason everything fails you, you can always resort to the most traditional method: dodging.
The gunfights also feel absolutely satisfying. You can use the scope to shoot more accurately or just fire in the third-person mode. Guns do have recoil, but it’s not too hard to control, so the game can appeal to pros and casual players.
All in all, Cyber Hunter is a pretty impressive release. It’s hardly anything unique, as many elements are borrowed from other battle royales. However, it combines everything in a creative way to create a truly entertaining experience.
Cyber Hunter is a breath of fresh air in the battle royale genre, which was beginning to get a little bit stale. With its release, players now have a reason to stick around for more. It is a title you definitely should try if you are a fan of these types of games.