bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Josh Ye

This article originally appeared on ABACUS
If you’ve been waiting for a flashy, sci-fi battle royale mobile game that isn’t PUBG Mobile or Fortnite, NetEase has you covered.
The Beijing-based company’s new game Cyber Hunter looks like Mass Effect, features a protagonist who resembles Alita: Battle Angel, and is equipped with guns from Halo. As wannabe Alita, you collect these Tesseract-looking blue cubes, which you can use to activate high-tech gadgets like a shield or a healing biotic field.

I allude to all these things because Cyber Hunter is a game that seems to have all the cool trappings that a sci-fi geek like me would want. However, as hip as the game feels, it doesn’t thrill or surprise me the way I hoped it would.
In fact, the game’s lack of core innovation makes it a forgettable addition to the battle royale genre that’s getting increasingly crowded by the minute.
How Fortnite and PUBG made battle royale the hottest trend in gaming    
This isn’t to detract from the talent that went into making this game. It’s certainly stylish, and it has great graphics and fancy animation.
The tone is set right out of the gate: Rather than the standard parachuting, my character skysurfs to the battlefield on a hoverboard. This gives the game a bit of a different feel, and I was very impressed at first.

As I played the game more, I was smitten by all the different gadgets available. I can instantaneously unfurl a mechanical shield like Iron Man, activate a healing biotic field like Soldier: 76 and summon a jetpack like Boba Fett. Heck, I can even transform into a moving shield that looks like a mini TIE fighter. How can I say no to that?

Cyber Hunter has also borrowed many neat mechanics from other games. For example, you can climb buildings or trees and glide with a paraglider in ways that are clearly inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
(Another obvious Zelda influence is the battlefield design. One area of the map is littered with ancient, rusty turrets reminiscent of the ancient machinery in Breath of the Wild.)

NetEase appears to have taken notes and tried to give fans of the genre everything they might want. From what I have seen, this is a very classic NetEase way of making games: try (or copy) everything until something sticks. The company has made at least a dozen battle royale games since the beginning of battle royale mania, and they all come with different styles and themes.
This catalog includes games that feature the military, magical heroes, zeppelin-riding pirates, dragon-riding hunters, Harley-riding anime girls and even Minecraft-esque, square-faced characters made of cardboard. NetEase has done it all.

Cyber Hunter feels like just another battle royale game that NetEase is releasing to the market. Other games in this genre have a unique hook. Fortnite emphasizes building, and Apex Legends highlights teamwork. Combat in Cyber Hunter, on the other hand, doesn’t doesn’t bring anything new to the table. It largely plays like PUBG. In the end, all the fancy guns and gadgets wound up feeling gimmicky.
If you want to learn more about Cyber Hunter and see the gameplay for yourself, check out our full stream here!


For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.



Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions video game review – fast-paced chaos in the air

China approves over 1,400 video game titles for the year, the most since 2019

SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds review: terrific for the price

Pokémon TCG Pocket app downloaded over 60 million times in 6 weeks, earning US$180 million

Video gaming

Cyber Hunter has all the battle royale essentials but no genuine creativity

Cyber Hunter also features some ultra-fancy vehicles. (Picture: NetEase)

Abacus

Culture

Tech

Games

Big Tech

NetEase churns out another game that feels like Mass Effect crossed with Alita: Battle Angel
