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You can never have too much battle royale in your life. This is just common knowledge, and good thing too, as battle royale games are a dime a dozen right now, and that's even before the big AAA titles hit the schedule with their takes on the popular PvP trend.
Case in point: Darwin Project, a battle royale title that's been in limited Early Access on Steam and Xbox One for some time, has now launched on the latter as a free to play game, available to all players from today. Simply hop onto the game's store page and give it a download to start up the last-man-standing death matches right now, without expending a penny.
Developer Scavenger Studio originally intended to release the game as a paid digital product but, after recognising trends in the battle royale genre (hint, hint: Fortnite), the company duly adapted its business model to improve Darwin Project's chances on the market. Those who previously paid in to enjoy Darwin Project in Early Access will receive a Founder's Pack full of bonus goodies, as Scavenger's retroactive way of making amends.
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Darwin Project is a much smaller title than the likes of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite Battle Royale, pitting only 10 players (as opposed to the usual 100) against each other in a small arena that slowly but surely closes in on itself. The game also features a greater focus on survival, with the cold weather conditions as much a blight on player health as the guerilla-style combat.
Meanwhile, the integration of stream-based gameplay - in which Twitch participants can activate certain environmental hazards and events during matches - is a novelty that's yet to show its true potential, but hopefully this transition to Xbox One can start to fix that complaint.
Having played a handful of matches on PC, it's clear that Darwin Project is a very different and more intimate experience than its genre peers, but a fun way to pass the time nonetheless. At the very least, try it out for yourself and see if it's something you could enjoy as a viable alternative to the battle royale big hitters. And hey, with that price tag, it's not like you'll feel any buyer's remorse if it rubs you up the wrong way.
Hear our thoughts on the best games like PUBG and the best games like Fortnite, just in case Darwin Project isn't doing anything for you.
