Cast your mind back to 2017, when battle royales weren't even a glint in most games developers' eyes and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds—now officially known as PUBG: Battlegrounds—smashed its way into early access. It rapidly rose through the ranks, and soon became one of Steam's most-played games. While there had been mods inspired by the Battle Royale film before, there hadn't been anything quite like this. It was nihilistic, intensely unwelcoming and brutally difficult to get to grips with. I played for a year, but my interest faded as the game moved out of the popular consciousness. I never forgot the ridiculous tension, though, or the silly situations that the game constantly threw my way.
When PCG's Joshua Wolens and I were looking for something to play recently, going back, we assumed, was going to be like slipping into an old pair of well-worn shoes. What a surprise it was, then, to find that the game is almost nothing like it was back in 2017-18.
