Video game trends go through cycles. A genre is popularized or invented; other companies grab a piece of the popularity pie with their own entries, and gamers gather around their favorite titles. The unpopular games die out, and the process repeats. In many ways, this cycle resembles the gameplay loop of battle royales, and Radical Heights was one of the many titles that didn’t win that coveted battle royale chicken dinner.
When Radical Heights was introduced, it attracted quite a few big names in the battle royale landscape, including Dr Disrespect, Ninja, and Shroud. However, that popularity took a nosedive thanks to bad reviews. What didn’t help matters was that Radical Heights was the second time Boss Key Productions was late to the popular genre party (the first was Lawbreakers, a hero shooter). Radical Heights was written off as a failed attempt to cash in on the PUBG/Fortnite craze. The irony of that statement is Bleszinski served as design director for Fortnite in the early days of its development.
Radical Heights — and Lawbreakers — might demonstrate that Bleszinski is at his best when he forges his own path instead of following someone else’s lead.
