Super Animal Royaleis a game that has been out in Early Access since late 2018,a method that other BR games are trying to utilize as well, but it was fully released in a 1.0 state on Steam and just about every mainline console as of August 26th, 2021.
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In it, players take control ofan adorable yet deadly little anthropomorphic animalof varying species as they battle it out in a top-down 2D battle royale setting. And, so far, players agree that all this time in Early Access was worth it to make SAR into a more polished and unique BR experience (though maybe not quite as unique as other recent BRs). But, even still, there are a few features the game is desperately missing, so let’s go over the most important ones now.
10More Game Modes
Right now,SARonly has the Standard BR Format (that includes Solos, Duos, and Squads) as well as the Mystery Mode. And, while this Mystery Mode does have some interesting modifiers that change up the default gameplay loop, it desperately needs at least one or two more modes.
Other games get away with just the BR mode (but still sometimes add new modes too) because they appeal and advertise to that demographic, butSARis less mainstream and more approachable for a younger audience, so it should have more options. Some examples of classic modes that wouldn’t be too difficult to implement:
9Some Sort Of Arena Or Ranked Option
It might seem sort of obvious for anyone familiar with competitive multiplayer games, butSARneeds a Ranked Mode or something more difficult to separate the pros and casual players. As it currently stands, the adorable art style, BR design,awkwardly designed Battle Pass,and the large amount of time SAR spent in early access are drawing in a real mixed-bag of player skill levels. In any standard match, there will usually be a blend of battle royale veterans, literal children playing for the cute animals, and dedicated hardcoreSARfans who have played the game since 2018.
Separating the pros from the casual players with a Ranked Mode would be a huge help, and it would also give people another incentive to grind the game too.
8Static Weapon Slots
Weapon slots inSuper Animal Royalearen’t technically “static”, rather, they appear as needed. Once players pick up a gun, suddenly they have a gun slot in addition to their melee slot, and that becomes two slots once they pick up their secondary.
But, if these empty primary/secondary slots just “existed” from the beginning, players could easily pick which slot the first weapon they pick up goes into. It may sound like a hyperspecific gripe (and it is), but anyone familiar with this genre knows that ease of use matters a ton when an incorrect/additional keypress means the difference between staying alive in a gunfight or not.
7Additional Options For Teammate Indicators
As it currently stands, trying to keep an eye on teammates inSuper Animal Royaleis just a tad too difficult. Allies won’t always be visible to their teammates, even when they’re technically on the same screen as them, thanks to the fog-of-war/shadow mechanicSARhas. So, when a teammate is far enough away, a tiny arrow “pointers” shows up on the border of the screen to point the way to them.
But, it’s very easy to lose track of that arrow in a chaotic gunfight (especially considering how destructive some of the guns are), and it’s not exactly the best way to gauge how close a teammate is. Some ideas for additional options include:
6A Quick Way To “Play Again”
This has to be the biggest feature the game desperately needs, as well as likely the easiest one to implement. After completing a match inSuper Animal Royale, players are brought back to the main menu so that they have a chance to go over all the Animal DNA, Super Serum, and Carl’s Coin items they received.
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But, the amount received per game (unless the player wins or gets top 3) is minimal, and most times players are just skipping or clicking through everything to start the next match. In that case, why not add a “play again” button next to the “spectate” and “leave” options so that players can go from one match to another as smoothly and quickly as possible?
5An Ammo Counter For Stowed Weapons
With most other BR games, of which there are plentyconsidering how versatile the genre is, players can see how full both their weapons are at any time, but in Animal Royale, the ammo count only shows for the currently equipped weapon. That’d be bad, but not egregiously bad in a BR where all guns have a high bullet-per-clip count, But, a ton of the guns inSARare single-short or have less than 10 bullets a clip!
Plus, the Super Jump Roll cancels the reload animation, even when used at the very end of it, so a lot of players reload, roll, then switch weapons without ever realizing their reload never actually finished.
4Allowing Double Keybinds
It’s small, but a reoccurring gripe among the player base is that the current version ofSARdoesn’t allow players to “double-bind” their keybindings. Sure, players can get around this using keyboard software to set macros, but it’s always easier to have the option in-game. In a BR game, the APM or Actions-Per-Minute is pretty high and only goes up as the people left in the game increase.
During a gunfight, players have to aim, fire, dodge, reload, move, heal, repair armor, switch weapons, interact with nearby objects, and more. So, giving players the option to double-bind so they can set multiple functions to the same key or even letting them set two different keys for the same action, can make a big difference.
3An In-Game Voice Chat
In the world of modern online multiplayer games, not having In-Game Voice Chat functionality is sort of a faux pas. Sure, Discord will always function as a workaround, but PC games shouldn’t be developed with that reliance on a third-party app in mind.SARdesperately needs In-Game Voice Chat if it wants to be taken relatively seriously as a BR (yes, even with the adorable artstyle).
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Currently, it does have a way to communicate with both allies specifically and the entire lobby through text, but communication in any sort of shooter game needs to be instant, AKA voice chat.
2Current Player Count On Eagle Express
Next up is a feature that isn’t present in all BRs, but should be. Whether it’s the Battle Bus fromFortniteor the aircraft players jump from in bothWarzoneandApex Legends, all these games should have a counter on-screen to show how many players are still in the vehicle at all times.
InSAR, players ride a Giant Eagle instead of a bus and hop out of it to float down to the ground using their umbrellas. Giving these players a way to know how many of their opponents have yet to jump out just makes it easier to pick a location to drop to, both for players who like to get themselves fully geared and for ones that enjoy fighting others right away.
1Easy Melee Swapping
Lastly, here’s another warranted feature that has a lot of similarities to the Static Weapon Slots entry. Basically, with the current state ofSAR, players have a “button” assigned to each Weapon Slot, with the third slot always functioning as the melee. But, more often than not, melee weapons are used for one swing to cut a clump of grass or break a wooden crate.
So wouldn’t a button that switches back and forth between melee make more sense? To be more specific, wouldn’t it be easier if pressing the melee input again with the melee weapon out switched the player back to their last equipped gun?
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