Reviews

• callinan1

  Aug 8, 2023

  very fun i got to learn about my dad did in the 75th
• gamedeal user

  Jun 7, 2022

  Im gonna compare this with ready or not and zero hour. You dont have to take any prisoners. Done
• gamedeal user

  Mar 23, 2021

  Being in early release, I reluctantly bought this game and admittedly I only have very, very little time playing it, but boy, so far, I'm really impressed. I'm a former Marine and a long time law enforcement guy so I've had guns in my hands since I was a teenager. I love shooting games but they are either way to arcadey and cartoony or way too difficult for the casual player to learn like Arma and to a certain extent, Squad. I am not someone that has the patience to spend weeks learning the intricacies needed to play those types of games well. You have to be REALLY dedicated to excel at games like those. I like games that have as much realism as possible where I can just quickly hop in and have some fun for a short period of time while waiting for dinner, etc., games like Insurgency Sandstorm and now, this game. I was immediately impressed with the weapons and customization options. Everything is available from the beginning, no annoying grinding. The sound is phenomenal in this game. What I really like...a lot...is that unlike Sandstorm which has all those really cheesy middle eastern accents and goofy, unrealistic, dialog, sadly, Sandstorm's biggest fail, this game has very minimal dialog, just enough to know that someone is there and that you've been spotted. There's very little dialog and no unnecessary noises. It greatly adds to emersion and realism. This is the only game of this type that actually keeps you on edge and nervous as you slowly clear areas. Mistakes are punished instantly. In bullet sponge games like the Division series, you can always run out of harm’s way before they fill you with the large amount of lead it takes to kill you, but this game isn't nearly that forgiving. You NEED to try and spot the enemy before they spot you. It's a thinking person’s game and not a bunny hopping cartoon like COD can sometimes be. I love that neither you nor the AI characters are bullet sponges and in that regard the game is very realistic. A couple shots to the torso or a well placed head shot is all you need and kills are visually very graphic and very appealing. In this regard, Ground Branch is very, very unforgiving, which is good. Think of the Division games for the exact opposite of this where it takes a full magazine into someone's head to kill them. This game is a slow, tactical shooter that requires good room/area clearing skills, but not so slow (again, like ARMA or SQUAD) where you can play for an hour and never engage in a firefight with anyone. The maps are a proper size and this prevents long, boring, periods of inaction. The graphics are okay given this is an early access game. Some improvements could be made here. The vehicle type and other things scattered around the map could be expanded as they can get kind of repetitive. Most the cars that aren’t taxis look like unmarked Crown Victoria police cars. The vehicles are a little minimalistic right now, but that's something that'll probably change in the final release version. All this being said, lifelike graphics are great, Division looks stunning, but not at the expense of core gameplay. The guns have to look and feel right. The guns have to sound right. Death dealing shot placement in real life should be accurately portrayed in the game. Graphics are nice, but come in a very distant second to game mechanics and gameplay. Lastly, Ground Branch loads almost instantly. It’s like flipping a light switch. I’ve never seen a game load so quickly. I highly recommend that you purchase this game as it's very playable and very enjoyable even in its current state. I'd even go so far as to say that even if Ground Branch never got any further in development than it is now, I'd be happy with the $29 I spent to buy this game, I like it that much. If you, like me like a low and slow, realistic tactical shooter that has enough engagement and action to keep you interested, but doesn't require a PhD to learn the intricate control options and 6 months to become marginally proficient, then this game is for you. I'm so glad I bought it and I’m really excited to see where the developers take it.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 27, 2022

  If you are comparing Ready or Not to this game I would say Ready or Not is more SWAT style. GB is more like Ghost Recon style. RoN has civilians and hostile AI and is only Coop. RoN also has smaller confined maps with max 5 players with 6 coming in the new patch. This game Ground Branch has been out much longer then RoN. There are no civilians and you can have a lot of players like 15+. GB maps are much bigger in scale. GB also have PVP which RoN does not. The guns feel the same as RoN. GB has the best weapon customization in any game I played so far. You can add rails, multiple sights, multiple lasers and a flash light. You can customize your gear down to the vest, belt, boots, and gloves. Pick the colors you want for the clothing and add attachments to the helmet like Night Vision and strobe lights. You have way more tons of customization not just to the weapons but to the AI aswell. They give you sliders for every single AI behavior so you can adjust the AI exactly how you want. You can play day maps and night maps. I would say tho RoN AI is a bit better. But I will also say RoN AI is more predictable then GB. The AI in GB I have not figured out. Sometimes they push where they last heard something or saw something then just stand there. Sometimes if they know exactly where you are they will flank and move to your location. If you kill 1 enemy, suddenly 4-5 enemies will come out the wood work to investigate the sound if it was near by. In RoN its a lot of rooms, doors, rooms and doors. Where GB is more open, some buildings have doors and some dont. Most maps you can just pick off half the population of enemies out in the open and if you miss your shot they do run. but sometimes they just run left, stop then run right, stop then run left, stop. You get the picture. There are also WAY more guns in GB then RoN but RoN has riot shields and tasers and pepper spray and more tactical stuff. Also in GB its only kill on sight where RoN you want to try at least to make the enemy surrender. The graphics are much better in RoN compared to GB, Last but not least, I think match making in RoN is a bit better with smaller team and you can hop in and out easy. GB there is a list just like BF or COD and you choose which game you want to join. The game in GB is map locked until people vote for a new map. You can jump in the game any time in GB even when people are still finishing the mission. You can chill in the lobby and shoot at the fire range or adjust your gear, or you can spectate the players still in the mission and watch. Then when that game ends, people can que up at the map and join the next game. Honestly both games have their own pros and cons. They are both worth having in your library. Zero Hour is going to my next purchase most likely. With all 3 games in your library you should have 100's of hours of fun.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 16, 2021

  >Buy game >Spend 20 mins making a cool all black tacti-cool outfit >Join lobby with an ex-mil and pro's all staring at me in their matching multicam and realistic chest-rigs and weapons kitted out >Feel their judgement through the screen >Make a better loadout >A brand new player joins wearing an all-black tacti-cool outfit >Stare at him, judgingly.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 3, 2021

  Other reviews will tell you more about what Ground Branch is, but I want to tell you what it feels like to play Ground Branch. Ground Branch scratches a very unique itch - one for a slow, methodical, tactical shooter that at the same time feels... oddly relaxing. Let me explain: A lot of games that emphasize realism also feel like big commitments. When you play a game of, say, Squad or ARMA, you're not just playing a fun game - you're also learning lots of complicated mechanics and killing a lot of downtime between the exciting and tense engagements. This can be really fun and rewarding, but it undeniably takes up a lot of time; in a single game of Squad you might only get into half a dozen real engagements in the space of a 90 minute round. And you may not always feel like waiting that long for the good stuff. What Ground Branch does so well is distilling the essence of what makes realistic games like that fun, and compressing it into little bite-sized chunks of action. There's no faffing around with travel, logistics, or waiting around at firebases; rounds can theoretically take up to an hour but will usually last no more than fifteen minutes. There are some very engaging "realism" mechanics to play around with, such as weapon stances, weapon customization, gear customization, and so on, but all of it is incredibly intuitive and easy to learn and there isn't a particularly steep metagame, so no spending hours looking over guides trying to git gud. If you die (which will happen a lot), respawns are quick and you'll be back in action within minutes. All this builds up to a game that feels tense, because it's difficult and dangerous, but not stressful, because the stakes are pretty low and you don't have to be laser focused to play well. With that kind of design, you can treat the game as seriously or casually as you want - you could choose to spend 6 hours crafting optimal loadouts for every possible engagement you might get into, or you can put three laser sights and a 6x scope on an MP7 and go wild. From what experience I have of the multiplayer, the community definitely adds to this effect. I initially expected that servers would be full of really dedicated milsimmers, but people are, by and large, really chill and willing to accommodate new players. Nobody's gonna yell at you about your radio callouts being in bad syntax, or how your camo looks totally unrealistic; everyone' just there for a good time, and it's truly beautiful to watch a bunch of perfect strangers coordinate to clear a map with good communication and coordination. In short? If you want a game that plays like a milsim but lets you unwind a little, pick up Ground Branch. You won't be disappointed.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 15, 2022

  GROUND BRANCH is the true spiritual successor to the classic tactical shooter genre. Nothing has quite scratched that itch like this game has for me. I've been playing GB for almost 4 years now and I still have trouble pealing myself away from it. Countless PvP events that last for hours, and late night training sessions with my team that never get old. The game may be far from complete, but it is still worth every penny and if you utilize everything it has to offer you will never run out of new experiences. Many players cite a lack of content in the games' early state, but I would suggest they never really consumed what is already there to begin with. It's true GB can become stale as a single player game and multiplayer is what really makes it shine. Whether PvP or Co-op, growing your skills together with other members of the community is the real progression system in this game. Get lost in the art of Tactical Barbie. Practice CQB techniques in sequence with your teammates. Feel the experience of the realistic weapon handling and movement. Use equipment such as LPVO scopes as they function in the real world. Make custom scenarios with the in game mission editor. Ground Branch has no comparison in all of gaming IMO. It might be rough around the edges, and development pace might be slower than we all like due to the small size of this Indie Dev team, but this project will continue to thrive. And one day, it could conquer the Tactical Shooter genre. Don't wait. Get in the fight and start sharpening your skills. Teach others the knowledge of the game. Be ready when the full Ground Branch experience reveals itself to us, because it's gonna be a banger. And dare I say, it already is. ;)
• gamedeal user

  Dec 11, 2021

  I listened to my teammate, our hostage, and an enemy talk about their favorite Tarantino movies in the middle of a firefight. Best 20 minutes of my life.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 15, 2023

  it's basically a military version of Ready or Not
• gamedeal user

  May 15, 2023

  My Honest Review of GROUND BRANCH (Update V1033.2)

  GROUND BRANCH is a first person tactical shooter focused on CQB, squad tactics and communication being developed by BlackFoot Studios. A tagline this game runs with is "GROUND BRANCH puts the 'tactical' back in 'tactical shooter.'" This is absolutely true. GB is a no nonsense tactical shooter, no gimmicks, no cringey characters, dialogue or anything like that. There's not even a tutorial for this game, so if you wanna get into it then you're going to have to get out there and play the game, learn a thing or two from other players, look up guides or videos on YouTube to teach you how to play. There is no hand holding and personally I think that is amazing.

  Story

  You are apart of the real world CIA's Ground Branch, you will be tasked with performing clandestine operations, covert ops and most importantly, unconventional warfare. That last one is something you are going to have to be good at because otherwise you are not going to make it.

  Gameplay

  GB's gameplay loop is incredibly riveting, the firefights are exciting, the models for the guns and equipment you use are all based on real world firearms, gear and equipment. Bravo to everyone involved in creating all of this to craft something, while definitely unfinished, is incredibly well oiled and functions great. The animations are all very well done and don't have problems a lot of other tactical shooters do where your operator takes forever to reload, you reload like you're in a hostile environment, not at the range with some buddies. The game is super fun and has gotten almost 400 hours of playtime out of me at the time of writing this review. GROUND BRANCH has some of the most impressive customization I have seen in a video game ever. Yeah all of the uniforms and gear you can wear is super cool as you can decide exactly what pouches you will wear on your plate carrier but what's even cooler is you can place an optic or scope, laser, flashlight, etc. almost anywhere on your gun (with limitations mind you for performance reasons) but what is there is really, really in-depth and insanely modular.

  Maps & Modes

  So where will you be using all of this equipment? This game has a handful of maps and modes. As of update V1033, there are 2 PvE modes and 6 PvP modes. I can't go into depth about every mode as that would make this review even longer but PvE is 100% this game's bread and butter. PvP is very good, free for all on the airplane level with shotguns only was some of the most fun I've had in PvP. Speaking of levels, let's talk about them. There are about 14 or so maps in the game, some of them still have that "early access" feel but as of update V1033 the devs are overhauling the visuals of most of their maps to bring them up to 2023 standards and they've done an awesome job at that so far with the recent Depot and Storage Facility changes.

  My Criticisms

  GROUND BRANCH is still in early access and is being worked on by a small dev team so much of what I am going to talk about is subject to change, being worked on or will be added in the future. Where to begin... I guess the lack of variety would be a good place to start. Lack of variety - I am exaggerating a little but GB has an awesome variety of weapons in all of its categories but many of its weapons are very similar in functionality or are the same weapon platform but with a different model. For example, the assault rifles category has 14 weapons, 7 of which are AK platform rifles and the other 7 are AR-15 platform rifles. All of these guns do have many differences and some minutiae but they all perform the exact same in-game for the most part with the exception of the M16A4 as that rifle is big and doesn't have full auto capability but rather a 3 round burst firemode instead. Submachine guns has 7 weapons, 4 of which are different variants of the MP5. I want to reiterate that this game has really good variety but these two weapon categories definitely need some revision. In the future the devs will be adding in the ability to change the stocks, handguards and barrel lengths so many of these weapons will be consolidated into one as many of the differences in-game right now between them are just their barrel lengths. The AI - The AI in this game isn't amazing by any means but they can range from doing occasionally smart things like moving together, flanking and overwhelming the player but they will also do incredibly dumb things like standing out in the open while being shot at, not reacting to dead bodies (unless they see their comrade die infront of them) among other problems... No Real Lore - I love lore, always been a stickler for it but there's none of it in this game and I hope when BlackFoot adds in the "campaign" missions that they will give us an interesting reason why we're doing the things we do beyond "there's terrorists in the city/forest/abandoned school/underground storage facility/etc." I don't like to compare video games often in my reviews but the the games GROUND BRANCH takes inspiration from have lots of lore and environmental storytelling. Hopefully we will get some of this in the future. Speed & Movement - I've done some testing and found out a while back that the encumberance system doesn't actually slow down the player but only affects the arm strength of your character. While this isn't a problem for most people but it should be punishing people who pack their plate carriers with LMG ammo all over and just run around like it isn't a tactical shooter. Another thing I'd like to mention is the movement in general, while it's serviceable it doesn't have any inertia or weight to it I just feel like a floating object, not a human being. I think the lack of locomotion with a sense of weight is what's currently missing. No Armor - This is something that really tarnishes my experience at times, GB has been in development for well over 10 years now and there is still no armor system put in place at all. All the helmets and plate carriers in this game are totally cosmetic and don't actually protect you. Paired with the slippery AI this can make for some frustrating moments where they snipe you while you have zero ways to protect yourself besides spotting the threat first which isn't always the case. While I have a lot to criticize this game about, I am happy to report that a lot of the problems I have mentioned above are featured on this game's roadmap and are going to: introduce their first pass/be fixed/overhauled entirely. And that's right, BlackFoot Studios have a roadmap containing most of the things they are currently working on, planned features, etc. Here's the GB roadmap in case you'd like to check it out here.

  Final Words

  Would I recommend this game? Yes absolutely! Grab a couple of friends and play this game with them or play on the community servers and you will definitely have a good time. The game is about to hit its full release in the near future and will be out of early access so grab the game now while you can because once it's out of early access, the price will go up. GROUND BRANCH is truly a special video game, it's worked on by very passionate developers who interact with their communtiy regularly while only trying to appeal to that specific community and while it has definitely made them incredibly niche, they have a very loyal fanbase that will keep supporting them and that is something a lot of devs wish for and that is truly incredible. Thanks for reading!