The loudest voices by far, though, are coming from the Tom Clancy traditionalists. (Image credit: unlikely-garage-8135 on Reddit) As someone who doesn't always want the stress of Rainbow Six Siege or battle royale and isn't feeling the latest Call of Duty, there aren't many worthwhile alternatives. Looks similar to when it comes to team abilities, but mostly being able to run and gun solo,' said SecondNature on ResetEra. 'Terrible name, but I'm completely onboard a f2p, fast-paced arena shooter. Less common, but still definitely out there, are the folks like me that are always willing to try the newest FPS on the block. Instead of slow-pan shots of a soldier holding a laser shield, we get brief glimpses at what looks like really fluid combat. In fact, the glimmer of potential I keep coming back to is the small snippets of gameplay that Ubisoft shared with the press. What I want to know is why XDefiant's shooting (a subject executive producer Mark Rubin kept bringing up) feels better than what's out there. Bubble shields and flamethrowers are well-worn territory in FPSes. I do agree that Ubisoft's reveal trailer focused on all of its least original ideas.

'I love me some GAAS, but this looks very very uninspired,' user Ghost of Jhoto said in the trailer's ResetEra thread. A common sentiment is that, even without the funny name, XDefiant looks a bit generic. You don't have to look far on Reddit threads or gaming forums to find folks unenthused by Ubisoft's next leap into free-to-play multiplayer shooters, especially after Ubi's dedicated battle royale game Hyper Scape came and went last year with little fanfare. The most common reaction to my eye has been one of general skepticism. And before that, remember Brink? I guess Splash Damage was mixing punk rock and shootouts long before Ubisoft. XDefiant's art style is different enough that I don't think anyone will genuinely confuse it with Apex Legends, Overwatch, or Valorant, but I saw that dude with the gas mask in the key art and instantly remembered that Dirty Bomb was a thing. It runs until April 23.There is no shortage of colorful shooters out there nowadays. You can still register for the XDefiant beta on the official site for a chance to try it.

Ubisoft at least has a track record of sticking with games even if they struggle, as it did with Rainbow Six Siege and For Honor. Other new, competitive shooters have struggled to catch on- Diabotical, as a lesser-known example-and nothing feels like a sure thing. Morgan checked it out, too, and also thinks it has promise, but wonders if it has enough sparkle to be a phenomenon.

I did have fun briefly checking out XDefiant today, although if I'm going to do as well as I can in present-day CoD, I may need to start drinking 20 oz Red Bulls again like it's the 2000s. It could just be that it's only popular with people like me: Aging, likes fiddling with stupid laser attachments, uninterested in playing against people who have special names for their movement techniques. The prevalence of 'Call of Duty is bad now' discourse doesn't mean it's unpopular: Modern Warfare 2 is the 6th most played game on Steam right now.

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