"Insurgency: Sandstorm": Video Game Review
Written By Alex Greenbaum
The 2021 holiday season is creeping upon us which means it's that time of the year where big budget releases like "Battlefield 2042", "Call Of Duty:Vanguard" and "Halo Infinite" look to battle it out for the first person shooter crown. However, there's a unique jewel in the wild that is yet to be talked about amongst the behemoths, but received its full console release in August, called "Insurgency: Sandstorm". This slow, methodical approach to the shooter genre is not only a blast to play but a time machine that transports you back into the days of the "SOCOM" and "Rainbow Six" series, where each pull of the trigger was a life or death situation. There isn't the overwhelming amount of content we have come to expect in the package and there's some frustrating monetization options along with a few annoying technical issues, but for someone who is looking for that hardcore shooter experience, look no further than developer New World Interactive's new console release.
There are a total of fifteen maps (up to 20 players), ranging from snowy hillsides to large river crossings that will immediately test your shooter abilities. Thankfully, the game supplies you with all the weapons at the start, making the progression valuable for some extra cosmetics. You'll also be split up into eight classes, that all have unique traits making each play style different on the battlefield, especially when working as a coordinated team. Experimentation is an absolute must, as it took me a few hours to gradually understand what my role needed to be for each match. Customizing that perfect weapon and being able to dominate your enemies is immensely satisfying, more so than most shooters because of its difficulty.
And there's no doubt, "Insurgency: Sandstorm" is a hardcore shooter through and through. It only takes a few bullets (sometimes one) to put an end to your enemy's life, there is no HUD or pop up to indicate that an enemy has been taken down and running causes your character to be out of breath, inducing heavy weapon sway. The design makes each objective that much more intense to achieve and is further escalated by its amazing voice chat audio design.
Each time you want to communicate with your allies, you must press down the L1 (Playstation) or LB1 (Xbox) to communicate. What sounds like a poor idea on paper, is actually incredible to witness in practice and elevates the big moments even more. Depending on the area you are in, the online player's voices will adapt to wherever they are located; more specifically if someone is in a warehouse their voice will echo through the mic. And this communication is key to not only winning but optimizing your specified role in each game mode.
There's a few great PVP modes such as "push" that will get your blood pumping right away. Additionally there is a fun coop mode consisting of up to eight players who try to capture a slew of objectives while fending off the horde of terrorists. This is similar to the terrorist hunt we have grown accustomed to in the "Rainbow Six" series but is a bit faster paced.
The cosmetic monetization left a bad taste in my mouth, especially considering it's the main form of unlockable progression. On top of that, I ran into a few crashes and a immersion breaking bug where almost all the audio in the game disappears. New World Interactive are addressing these issues and have patched some of them since my writing of this review. But having a $40 price tag and being exposed to some of these problems over my playtime might turn off the reader who might be waiting for a more polished release.
There's a lot more to discuss than what I've written in this review besides the limitations that the game exhibits. As time goes on, and the game progresses with a handful of new weapons, maps, etc., along with a larger player base, "Insurgency: Sandstorm" will be one of the finest online shooters I will have played in recent memory and it represents a defining step forward in the FPS genre.
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