Dive into a 6.4 square kilometer island in Knives Out and fight your way against 99 adversaries to be the last warrior standing.

Loot weapons from abandoned buildings and houses from pistols, machine guns, and sniper rifles.

Team up with your friends or survive alongside a buddy.

We saw this coming. The popularity of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is bringing forth an influx of new battle royale games. Although Fortnite is its only competitor in PC and in the consoles, it has inspired a number of games which are now live on the iOS and Android. Knives Out by NetEase is one of them, and yes, the gameplay aspects and aesthetics look eerily familiar. Its lack of uniqueness is actually one of the reasons it is decent, mainly because it gives a similar yet exciting experience. With that said, is it worth the download? Let’s find out:

Knives Out starts out with a tutorial that will orient you about the basic facets and controls of the gameplay. At the start, you will notice some instructions are unclear, due to the poor localization and shoddy translation. Nevertheless, it simply talks about the rules and the goals: enter a game, ride a helicopter over the island, jump and land, loot for weapons, be in the safe zone at all times, and survive.

The controls are much like any third-person (or even first-person) shooter. A virtual joystick on the left side of the screen is used to move your character. Aiming requires you to slide a finger on the right side of the screen, while the bottom corner hosts the shoot button. What the tutorial fails to cover are the other aspects of the game, like weapon switching, reloading, using the inventory, and even motions like jumping and crouching. This poses a problem for both new and veteran players since the gameplay elements aren’t exactly intuitive.

After the tutorial, you will immediately be thrown straight into the multiplayer aspect. If you have a decent internet connection, finding a match is quick and easy. There are also several game modes: solo, duo, and a team of four. In terms of stability, there’s minimal lag, although it should be noted that you need a mobile device with high specs to run this game smoothly.

The map in Knives Out is massive, and it takes time for 100 players to find and annihilate each other. The landscapes are varied, ranging from residential areas, forests, bridges, and even a small city. There are also vehicles for you to ride in which you will need to ride if you’re outside the dwindling play area. The guns are varied though quite similar to those of other battle royale games. These range from automatic rifles, shotguns, pistols, and the SMGs. You can also pick up equipment like helmets, new clothes, and body armor, along with weapon attachments like red dot sights and scopes.

The graphics are pretty decent for a mobile battle royale game. However, there are latency issues whenever you encounter another player and at times, you can’t even see where they are, even if they are shooting at you a few meters away. Fortunately, the developers are doing their best to roll out new and better updates.

Overall, Knives Out is a pretty decent mobile battle royale game though it needs more work if it wants to stand out. Regardless, give it a shot and immerse yourself in fast-paced BR action.