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The last few years have seen a plethora of battle royale games being launched. It's all thanks to the explosive success of games like Fortnite and PUBG, who were the main reason behind the rising popularity of a game mode where hundreds of players are pit against each other.
It's no surprise then, that several studios have tried their hand at this style of gameplay, each adding in different bells and whistles to outdo their competitors and draw more players to their games. Sometimes, this takes the form of weird, innovative mechanics; other times, developers will toss players into the weirdest, wackiest settings they can imagine. Here are some of the most unique settings in the battle royale genre.
9 Medieval Times, Mordhau
Most battle royale games are set in a weird, vaguely cartoony post-apocalyptic worlds, so the battle royale mode in 2019's Mordhau was definitely a twist on the genre. Mordhau is a PVP-focused brawler set in the Medieval Age, so instead of battling other players with guns and grenades, you're fighting with swords and axes.
Unfortunately, its Battle Royale mode isn't available anymore, but when it was, there was no experience like 64 players going after each other in their best Lancelot drag.
8 A Game Show, The Darwin Project
The battle royale genre is heavily inspired by The Hunger Games and the Japanese movie that gave the genre its name. So The Darwin Project's gimmick is a natural fit; it takes place in a sort of game show where participants have to fight each other to come out on top, much like the films that inspired this kind of gameplay.
It also uses its setting to add a few new wrinkles to the genre. In addition to the 10 players who fight for victory, there's an 11th player who serves as the game director who can manipulate the arena.
7 An Abandoned Safari Park, Super Animal Royale
Imagine your Animal Crossing island. It's cute, it's cozy, it's full of friendly animal neighbors who give you things and hang out with you. Pretty cool, right? Now imagine that everyone on that island has a shotgun and is trying to kill you. That's Super Animal Royale in a nutshell.
It's a 2D, top-down battle royale where you play as an adorable animal friend hunting other adorable animal friends in an abandoned safari park. When the battle zone shrinks, it's because of deadly "Super Skunk Gas". You can even roll around in a hamster ball to squash other players. Beat that, Fortnite.
6 A Vast Magical Realm, Spellbreak
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Since most battle royale games are built around shooting, their settings are usually vaguely realistic. But not so with Spellbreak. In this game, instead of guns, you'll battle your foes with magic. The game offers several classes with various elemental or strategic specialties to choose from.
As such, you'll fight in a Dungeons & Dragons-esque fantasy realm, complete with soaring Gothic architecture and crumbling peasant villages - all while a magical storm closes in the edges of the map. Plus, with a persistent progression system, it's like you really are a powerful mage, learning alongside your peers... while you kill them.
5 Prague, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt
Your typical battle royale setting is less a specific place and more of an unobtrusive backdrop for the action, but Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt goes against the pack. It's part of the long-running World Of Darkness franchise, which takes place in an urban fantasy milieu. So, instead of fighting across a bland non-environment environment, you'll leap across the historic rooftops of Prague.
It's cool that this game allows you to travel to a faraway city... though in real life, you probably wouldn't be accosted by other supernatural creatures trying to murder you.
4 The Ocean, Maelstrom
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The thing all the other games on this list (except one... but we'll get to it) have in common is that they take place on a surface that your character runs across. Not so with Maelstrom. Rather than playing as a singular entity, this game casts you as a pirate ship, battling other ships on the open sea.
The game really commits to this concept, with mechanics like sharks in the water and ocean currents to spice up the gameplay. I don't normally condone piracy, but I'll make an exception for this one.
3 1800s Louisiana, Hunt: Showdown
If you're looking for a battle royale that adds a bit of horror flavor to its gameplay, Hunt: Showdown is a great option. Created by Crytek, Hunt: Showdown takes place in the bayous of 19th-century Louisiana, but a version that's been overrun with zombies and other supernatural demons. You're a bayou bounty hunter, chasing after the baddest bad guys across the game's infested waters.
Hunt's unique setting gives it a real sense of place - its muggy, oppressive atmosphere is unlike anything else in the genre. Add in the game's exemplary sound design, and you have a real standout amongst its battle royale competitors.
2 An Alternate Dimension Made Of Inflatable Slides, Fall Guys
When my friend turned 16, she rented a bouncy house for her birthday party and set it up in her front yard. It was really fun, but also a little scary - imagine a bunch of teenagers hurling themselves at each other and you'll get the picture. Fall Guys is basically that as a video game.
Less of a setting and more a sort of colorfully abstract unreality, Fall Guys' weird alternate dimension fits with its obstacle-course style take on battle royale conventions.
1 Tetris, Tetris 99
You can imagine the boardroom meeting that led to Tetris 99: "People love battle royale games. What can we do?" "Well, people also love Tetris." "Jones! You're a genius!" It's literally Tetris adapted into a battle-royale style deathmatch. You race with 98 other players to clear your board - and each time you complete a line, you'll send blocks to clog up other players' screens.
The huge player count adds an extra dose of chaos, especially when you get close to the end of the match and the blocks begin falling faster. All the other games on this list have interesting settings, but none of them come close to the fast-paced, surreal absurdity of Tetris battling.