Review: Butter Royale
Butter Royale is another offering in the mobile battle royale genre. Butter Royale is available on Apple Arcade, and it’s trying to be different, but will it be a standout or just another forgettable mobile battle royale?
Battle Royale
I have said a lot about my love of battle royales (excluding Fortnite) in the past, so I was happy to get a battle royale on Apple Arcade. Most battle royales are 100 players but here we have 32 instead. Normal battle royale rules do apply: spawn with nothing, gather supplies, and survive.
Last man standing wins.
Gameplay and Controls
The game both plays and controls great. The controls are simple: one side of your screen is to move around and the other is to aim and shoot. When you aim you will automatically shoot, so there no dedicated shoot button. When you walk around the map, you see different items and equipment on the ground; you simply walk near it and wait a couple of seconds and then it’s yours. Everything about this game is simple, which makes it so easy to just pick up and play.
Game Modes
There is definitely a lack of variety in game modes, but it never truly hurt my experience, since the core gameplay was so much fun. There are three modes but it’s really only two; Solo and Versus AI are the same modes. One is offline, and one is online, that’s the only difference. Solo mode was where I spent most of my playtime in the beginning. Getting my first win — where I actually felt I earned it — was a great feeling. It didn’t have the same heart pounding last minute action as other Battle Royals, but for games that are just a quick burst of gameplay, it gets the job done.
After achieving a few solo victories, I decided to head into some squad matches, with low expectations. I’m a solo gamer, especially in Battle Royale games. I like the idea of one person against the rest and having a team defeats that purpose. Surprisingly, squad mode was amazing, and is where I spend most of my time now in the game.
There is no voice chat, so you don’t communicate, you just try your best to follow each other around the map. In squads — like other Battle Royale games with squads — when you go down a teammate can revive you. What’s different, and unique, about Butter Royale is, when you go down, you can roll out of danger and self revive, just by surviving the downed state. This added a state of mind to the game, that makes you really pay attention and finish off the enemies that you down. Something else that’s interesting: you do not see your teammates’ stats at any point, even at the end of the game. Sometimes you feel like you are carrying the team, but there is really no way to tell. It takes away a competitive aspect but keeps everything friendly.
Map
There is only one map, but it’s a pretty good layout. When the match starts, you select a spot on the map for you to spawn. If you’re playing in squads you can see where all your teammates are selecting. There are no buildings to enter; all the weapons and armor are just scattered on the ground. There are a lot of bushes around that map that provide areas to hide and surprise your enemies to get the upper hand. The overall design of the map was great, each area felt different, and it was a blast to explore and get the lay of the land.
Commitment
I need to commend Butter Royale for its commitment to “butter.” So many things have to do directly with butter. Areas of the map are named after different foods where butter is an ingredient, which I didn’t notice at first, but once I did I could not unsee it.
There are big supply drops that appear, and instead of being in a supply crate like other games, they show up in a refrigerator. A lot of the melee weapons, and other cosmetic items, are food related as well.
Even the loading screen gets in on the fun. Instead of saying “loading” it says “Churning Butter”.
My favorite is the screen it gives you when you are eliminated. Your death screen simply says “creamed.” I loved the playful aspect surrounding every part of this game.
Store
There is an in game store that takes currency owned from playing the game. There is no way to spend real money on the currency to buy different items. It seems like maybe this game was in development as a free to play game, but then made the jump to Apple Arcade during its development. It seemed like a weird inclusion, since the available skins and items change daily, you can miss out on something you really want, without the ability to drop a couple of bucks to get it.
Verdict
Buttle Royale is a great addition to Apple Arcade and a great game in a long list of mobile battle royales. Its easy controls, quick fun gameplay, and quirky humor and style make this game an easy recommendation. I give this one two thumbs up. This one is worth signing up for Apple Arcade for.
Final Score: — 8/10 —
For more reviews, be sure to check out my thoughts on Call of Duty: Warzone and Ballistic Baseball, plus my Monthly Mobile Gaming Report. As always, check us out on Twitter @TheSpinchoon and I’m @Big_Broons.
