Codename: Savage - Experimental Test Servers [First Impressions]

I still remember my first match of PUBG, I didn't even realize what the premise of the game was and I had bought it per recommendation from a friend of mine. Without any prior knowledge to the game, I remember dropping in, dying and then the game just ended? I was very confused? Did I join a late game? So I jumped in again and the same thing happened! At that point, I realized! Holy s&%! I love this game. It's high stakes, die once and you're done! The great map design and gameplay in my opinion make it one of the best video games currently on the market (hype aside). I've played over 125 Hours as of the time of this review and I'm eager to try out some new content!

On April 2nd at 9pm PDT Bluehole released a new map (Close Beta)
Unofficial Name: 'Codename: Savage'
Size: 4x4
Setting: Tropical Island
Location: A collection of Islands, and based on the English names for the locations this might suggest US Virgin Islands?

Review

Pros

My first impression of the new map (let's call it savage for this review) was that it was much smaller than the first two maps. Because of the smaller map design, the game has a more fast-paced feel, with fewer places to drop and the likelihood of you running into other players early give the game a much needed speed boost. Not to mention that the circle times are now faster so although you don't need to run as far to the next circle, you can't stick around one area for too long! Something else I liked was the amount of ARs spawned in the game (There seemed to be quite a lot of M4s and AKs) and every time I was killed it was with an M4! Lastly, something I really liked was the amount of boats on the map. Since the map is comprised of islands, boats are a really good way to get around!

Cons

Since this is in the experimental testing phase, I'm going to avoid critiquing any gameplay issues related to bugs, etc. That being said, I have some gripes with this map. Something that bugged me right off the bat was that the map, from the perspective of the plane during the drop, looked eerily like a shrunken reskin of Engral. Don't get me wrong, Engral is a wicked map and I enjoy playing on it, but I was hoping that Savage would have a distinct top-down look. Another issue I had with this map was that the buildings have a copy-and-pasted feel to them. For the most part it's just the same huts all over the map and they feel generic. Some locations, like the bootcamps, and certain large urban centers have unique building design and that's great! But I was hoping for some more building diversity in the less populated regions.

Score

Overall, I was pretty happy with the map, sure I'm looking at the map through rose-colored goggles since I am thirsty for some new content and anything seems like a great addition to the game. However, I still think they could have made the map a little more... island-y? As in a map that consists of a collection of small islands, not just one that is a conglomerate of 3 or 4 medium ones.

First Impression Score : 7.5/10

After I put in 25 or so hours I will be writing another review with more details

Thanks for reading,
Brett :)