Apex Legends is the new hit video game that has taken the gaming industry by surprise. The game is a battle royale, which has been the trend in gaming for the past year.  Apex Legends puts a twist on the trend.

Apex Legends launched Feb. 4, with no marketing and a free-to-play model. The success of the comes from word of mouth and its easy accessibility. Within a week, the game broke 25 million players and has 2 million concurrent players.

The game’s moving mechanics are clean and fluid. It is fun to run and slide around the map’s terrain while jumping to high places. The combat is also very smooth. Weapons are accurate with a good aim, battles will be won. In order to acquire these weapons, areas must be looted; these locations have their own design and levels of loot. Loot includes gear, weapons, armor and ammo which are vital to the player’s survival. Another unique feature this game includes is the choice of characters that come with special abilities. There are eight characters to choose from ranging in classes of healer, tank, tracker, or assault. These classes are balanced to counter each other, so the game never feels unfair. One can play with two others in a squad. The squad works together using abilities, weapons and skill to be the last team standing.

The game’s success is well deserved due to the polish and thought-out mechanics. Big franchise games such as Call of Duty, Fallout, and Battlefield come with a $60 price tag and do not have this type of effort put into them. Apex Legends is a breath of fresh air to the gaming scene that comes at no cost to the player.