The Ghost Recon franchise has gone through a couple of changes since its initial release. What once started as a hardcore war simulator where every bullet counts, transformed into an open-world playground in Ghost Recon Wildlands. Wildlands offered a fun game and thanks to the impressive post-launch content, Ubisoft made sure the players were satisfied. Although most players had a blast, some missed the level of realism the franchise was once known for. In Breakpoint, the newest entry in the franchise, Ubisoft tries to offer us the best of both worlds.
Time to take down the Wolves
The story of Ghost Recon Breakpoint takes place on the gorgeous island of Aurora, a fictional island in the Great Ocean. The island was considered a paradise for those interested in state of the art technology. The founder of Skell Technology, Jace Skell, opened up the island for those who wanted to have fun with the Skell tech. You can compare it to what would happen if Elon Musk decides to open up an island where you can freely mess around with Tesla Technology. Needless to say, a place like this grabs a lot of attention, and as proven in Breakpoint, you might even attract the wrong kind of attention.
Ex-Ghost soldier, Cole D. Walker (portrayed by Jon Bernthal) decided to take the island and use the powerful Skell Technology for his own goals. Together with his group of elite soldiers, he took the island by storm, eliminating everyone who dared to stand in his way. Walker and his Wolves took over and there’s no way out of it, that’s why lieutenant Nomad and a group of his best soldiers are sent over to the island to investigate the situation.
Free to explore
Seconds after his departure, Nomad’s helicopter got shot down and crashed on the island. It’s an opening that reminded me of the one found in Far Cry V but the story is only used to connect certain dots. Just like in Wildlands, Breakpoint offers an open world that’s accessible right from the start. You can go wherever you want to go but it’s advised to follow the main missions first, that way you’ll unlock more gear and experience points, enabling you to tackle certain challenges easier. There’s nothing wrong with this approach and although the story never really shines, the role of Jon Bernthal does make it better. Watching him act all tough as leader of the Wolves is fun and it’s a shame we couldn’t see a bit more of him throughout the game. Breakpoint is an open-world game first, a game where the story comes secondary, which isn’t a problem.
Talking about the gameplay itself, it’s Ghost Recon as you would expect it, offering a vast open-world to discover combined with some challenging gameplay. Fans of the first entries will be happy to learn that Ghost Recon Breakpoint goes back to its roots, making more room for stealth gameplay instead of just shooting everything at first sight. It’s great to have this challenging gameplay back but it does come at the cost of variation. Most missions feel the same, going from one point to another, finding your target and quietly eliminating it. Nothing wrong with this formula but things can get a little boring when you’re constantly on the move. The game forces you to travel over the map a lot, luckily you have some fast vehicles but due to the emptiness of the world, those travels aren’t always that great. Yes, this is the biggest map to date but compared with Wildlands, it’s simply too empty. Besides the main missions and tons of side quests, the map really needs to come more to life. It’s a shame, the premise of paradise on earth sounded like an interesting setting but as it is right now, it’s a bit boring.
Work together as one
If you’re playing this game alone, the feeling of boredom might lure behind the corner a couple of times, my advice is to play it together with a friend. Ghost Recon Breakpoint truly shines when it comes to co-op gameplay. The game doesn’t change but playing with another human is a huge leap forward compared to the questionable AI of your team in singleplayer. Another important new feature of Breakpoint is your health. Everything can hurt you and everything affects the way you play. If you, for example, hurt your arm, this might affect your aim. In singleplayer, it’s hard to keep track of your injuries and take care of them at the right time while it’s one of the best elements in co-op. Looking out for your brother, healing his wounds and supporting each other until the very end, it creates a special kind of bond between the players. Both players need each other and only by working together, they’ll come out victorious. Thanks to this, Ghost Recon increases the level of realism even more, this really is a survival game where you’ll have to protect yourself and your team from your enemies and the natural hazards found on the island.
Still a bit rough around its edges
So, is Breakpoint the sequel we hoped for? Well, it is and it isn’t. It’s a fun game, especially when you play together with a friend or a squad but it never really reaches the same heights as some of its competitors. Although it offers a fun ride, it’s simply a bit too rough around the edges to really impress at this time. Weird texture loading, pop-in, questionable AI… Those aren’t the things we wish to see in games like these but sadly, you’ll find plenty of them in Breakpoint. It never reaches the point of truly breaking the game but it’s those minor mistakes that prevent the game from really becoming extraordinary. Now, the past already showed us multiple times that Ubisoft can really turn things around with some amazing post-release DLC and I’m guessing Breakpoint will only become better and better over the years. For now, it’s a fun game but it’s not the masterpiece you might have hoped it was.
Conclusion:
Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a fun game to play, combining an open world with the realism that Ghost Recon is known for. On you’re own, it’s not the best game out there but it gets a lot better when you play together with your friends. Clearly not the best game currently on the market but definitely worth playing if you’re looking for a fun new co-op experience.
