Google Stadia is clearly struggling. While there was some enthusiasm for Google’s new video game streaming service out of the gate, things have since stalled, with barriers likeInternet data caps and weak wi-fi connectionskeeping most gamers from even giving it a chance. Those who do have adequate Internet to experience Stadia to its fullest don’t really have much to play on it at this time, though Google has worked hard to pad its library with various third-party releases. Recently, this has includedTom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, but a poorly-received tactical shooter/looter-shooter hybrid doesn’t exactly do much to make Stadia a more appealing prospect.
Ghost Recon Breakpointsuffers from the big problem that many other Stadia third-party releases suffer from, and that is a generally dead online community. The poor reception toGhost Recon Breakpointlikely means that versions of it on PC and consoles probably aren’t all that well-populated either, but the Stadia version is even less-populated. Stadia has a significantly smaller userbase when compared to other platforms, and so this isn’t exactly surprising, but it’s been a common problem for Stadia ports.
When players first attempt to connect toGhost Recon Breakpoint’s online servers, they will be asked to create an Ubisoft account. While this is really just a minor inconvenience, it is nevertheless another barrier that may keep some Stadia owners from even bothering with the online, shrinking the potential player pool even more. Considering how difficult it is to really experience the online inGhost Recon Breakpoint’s Stadia release, it seems like it would have been better to make the process as simple as possible.
As it stands,Ghost Recon Breakpoint’s online multiplayer experience is practically nonexistent when compared to the game on other platforms, though its online is a bit more populated than, say, theXenoverse 2Stadia port. It sometimes takes quite a long time to get into a public co-op session, and usually it’s just with one other person instead of a full squad, but it’s better than literally never finding anyone else online at all.
Getting into a PvP match is a different story, with nearly hour long queue times. Anyone thinking about gettingGhost Recon Breakpointon Stadia for theGhost War PvP multiplayershould definitely think twice about it, as PvP is completely dead at this point. And chances areGhost Recon Breakpoint’s Stadia population will continue to get smaller as time goes on, so things will just get worse.
When players do manage to get into a game with someone else, they will be able to take advantage of an interesting feature unique to the Stadia version ofGhost Recon Breakpoint.Ghost Recon Breakpointutilizes theStadia Stream Connect feature, which allows players to watch what their teammates are doing. Stream Connect is a neat tool and while it doesn’t really have a ton of practical use inGhost Recon Breakpoint’s current dead-online state, it’s easy to see how it could be hugely beneficial in other games.
Even ifGhost Recon Breakpoint’s online multiplayer was well-populated, the game itself is still mediocre at best.Ubisoft is changing its approach to game developmentpartly because of this game, which plays like all of the company’s other open world games. Players explore a huge map populated by enemies, vehicles, animals, and a bunch of random activities to partake in. But while there’s a lot of stuff to do inGhost Recon Breakpoint, none of it is all that interesting outside of the main story missions, so most players will find themselves just running from one mission to the next. All the open world accomplishes is keeping players from engaging with the actual content.
Besides having the generic Ubisoft open world,Breakpointalso hasThe Division’s looter-shooter elements. As pointed out in our originalGhost Recon Breakpointreview, the problem is that bullet sponge enemies and the like that are associated with looter-shooter games don’t translate to a tactical shooter series. The compromise is that none of the gear really matters or feels different in the slightest. Most enemies are still killed with a single shot to the head, with the exception of special bullet sponges that players sometimes encounter. It’s only then when the gear really makes a difference, but since most encounters aren’t against bullet sponge enemies, it seems likeBreakpointwould have been better off just dumping its gear system entirely. In its attempt to be both a tactical shooter and a looter-shooter simultaneously,Ghost Recon Breakpointfalls short in both categories.
Players have the freedom to approach many situations stealthily like in aclassicGhost Recongame, but most shootouts can be survived by simply hiding behind something and shooting enemies as they bull-rush their location. The AI inGhost Recon Breakpointis some of the dumbest in franchise history, only ever putting up a challenge when players are caught out in the open or have to face off against enemies where better gear actually plays a role.
To make matters worse,Ghost Recon Breakpointis buggy, and things haven’t improved all that much in the Stadia version. The camera inGhost Recon Breakpointlikes to get stuck in odd positions when players move in and out of cover, and running into something while driving may very well send players flying through the sky. Driving controls are generally clunky, and that combined with how easy it is to get stuck on terrain makes driving inGhost Recon Breakpointa frustrating experience. Unfortunately, with mission objectives often many miles apart from each other, players will be spending the bulk of their time with the game wrestling with the driving controls to get from one point to the next.
ExploringGhost Recon Breakpoint’s open worldisn’t fun, but one positive thing that can be said about it is that it looks quite good. Furthermore,Ghost Recon Breakpointruns great on Stadia, with minimal stuttering and lag that sometimes plagues other games on the platform.
But while theGhost Recon Breakpointopen world looks good, the same can’t be said for other aspects of the visuals. The art style is bland and generic, and many of the NPCs are just downright ugly. Foliage also has a weird tendency to shake in a non-realistic way whenever there’s any wind, and things like that make the otherwise gorgeous-looking game world look rather cheap.
Ghost Recon Breakpointis average at best when everything is going right. The Stadia version has a barely-existent online community that makes some of the modes and features inaccessible, making it the worst way to experience the game by a wide margin. TheProject Titan Raidis apparently in the works for the Stadia version, but if the game’s online population doesn’t grow, it’s hard to see Ubisoft seriously supporting it as much as other versions of the game.Ghost Recon Breakpointis already a shaky recommendation on other platforms, but it is impossible to recommend for those looking to grow their Stadia library.
Ghost Recon Breakpointis out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One. Game Rant was provided a code for this review.
