First-person shooters and battle royale games have taken over the console and PC gaming landscape. Now, they're making a push onto mobile devices as well. One example is Pixel Gun 3D. It's an exciting take on the genre that tries to combine the battle royale nature of games like Fortnite with the blocky presentation of Minecraft.

Pixel Gun 3D Overview

Pixel Gun 3D is an online multiplayer game that you can enjoy on your phone. It features blocky graphics that are similar to Roblox and Minecraft. While the developers advertise it as a battle royale, it actually offers a variety of game modes. Some of them include deathmatch, zombie survival and raids.

Recently, Pixel Gun 3D implemented a new game mode called impostor. It takes advantage of the popularity of Among Us, a game in which one player is a trader and tries to eliminate other players without them finding out who is the spy.

Rated for people 12 years and older, Pixel Gun 3D is free to download. However, it's important to note that it features in-game purchases and advertisements, which are pretty standard for free games.

Pixel Gun 3D Review

There's a lot to love about Pixel Gun 3D thanks to its wide variety of game modes. The ability to play team deathmatch, battle royale and impostor modes without downloading different apps for each one is great for people who have limited space on their mobile devices.

Despite that, the variety of game modes slightly hampers the experience because none of them offer a unique experience. Instead, Pixel Gun 3D takes popular aspects from other game modes and incorporates its ideas. Although that's not a deal-breaker, don't expect this game to offer a definitive experience in any one mode.

Sound and Graphics

In terms of graphics, there's nothing groundbreaking here, but it gets the job done. If you're familiar with the graphical style of Minecraft, then you know exactly what to expect. In fact, the simple graphics make it possible for the game to offer such a wide variety of multiplayer maps. One thing that I love about the game is that it has over 100 maps. This keeps the gameplay fresh, which is usually the biggest drawback of free battle royale games.

In terms of sound, the game offers nothing new here. The sound effects are fine, and the music is nothing you'll be humming once you turn off the game. However, that's to be expected in a battle royale. With so many game modes, though, it would have been nice to hear some variety in the music.

Controls

The controls for the game are about what you would expect from a mobile FPS. While the on-screen controls get the job done, you should consider linking a controller to get the most out of Pixel Gun 3D. It puts controlling the game more in line with a console-based FPS.

That said, be aware that you're at a disadvantage without a controller when other players have one. Controllers give you more precise control over your character, so it stands to reason that using provides an advantage.

As an alternative, you can easily download this game to a Chromebook. Doing so opens the door to playing with a mouse and keyboard. These controls would give you an even greater advantage.

Because of all the different ways that you can play Pixel Gun 3D, you can expect some unfair matchups. While that doesn't ruin the game, it's an ongoing problem.

Pay to Win

While Pixel Gun 3D offers a fun gaming experience, the fun factor starts to drop off as you level up. That is, unless you're willing to put real money into the game or at least watch lots of ads. The game features a pay-to-win system, so the more money that you put into it, the better weapons that you'll get. As a result, you'll gain a bigger advantage over other players.

In most cases, players don't start noticing this paywall until they reach level 30 or higher. At about this time, Pixel Gun 3D starts putting them into matches with other players who might be as high as level 65. Those other players typically have better weapons. As such, you'll need to sink some money into the game in order to overcome the uneven matchmaking. I can only assume that the developers did this on purpose to encourage in-game microtransactions.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Wide variety of game modes.
• Over 800 weapons to battle with.
• More than 100 maps to play on.
• Free to download and play.
• Allows you to create clans with your friends.

Cons

• In-game purchases give players a competitive edge.
• Uneven matchmaking.
• Numerous glitches experienced during testing.
• Attempts to be a jack-of-all-trades and fails to master one specific genre.

Verdict

All in all, Pixel Gun 3D is a fun, free FPS on mobile devices. Thanks to the variety of game modes, it's fun no matter what kind of shooting game you're in the mood for. Graphically, the game looks similar to Minecraft, but that's not a bad thing. It adds a charm that other battle royale mobile games are missing.

While the game has a lot of free content in terms of modes, maps and weapons, its biggest weakness is the shameless pay-to-win system. If you want to progress and continue winning games after reaching higher levels, you need new guns. The quickest and easiest way to get them is through microtransactions.

Despite the few drawbacks that the game has, Pixel Gun 3D is worth checking out if you want a new battle royale on your mobile device.