Rules of Survival, a Battle Royale game similar to Fortnite and PUBG, has been growing in popularity among PC and mobile players since November. The goal is to be the last survivor and to battle to the death. Every kill and win a player gets helps them level up to a new rank as well as provides them with money to buy crates that contain several goods.

Several weapons, along with equipment and resources, give the game a realistic touch. These items include scopes, armor, helmets, backpacks and medkits. There are also several game modes: Solo (play alone), Duo (two players), Squad (four players), and Fireteam (five players).

Newly added in February is the new map Fearless Fiord, which has 300 players, and is larger than Ghillie, their original map. Because of its size, it is booby trapped with land mines across some of the roads and it even has hang gliders to make fighting easier.

When you first spawn into the game, going to the Ghillies map that holds 120 players, there is a waiting period while it waits for more players to join. After that, it takes you to a plane and flies across the map so you can drop down somewhere and get good loot. The popular places to go include Echo Valley and Bitter Lake.

Throughout the game there is a “zone” you must stay in so you don’t get wounded or even killed. Several loot crates will spawn throughout the map, and in those areas there are usually a lot of people waiting to get a kill or two.

If you manage to win the game, you recieve coins. Depending on how many kills you get, it’s possible to rank up.

The game is lacking a story, but it matters less when the action is added into it. The game is fun to play because the adrenaline of being the last one standing creates enjoyable suspense. I usually play with my friends, and in a way, it has brought us closer because they trust that I’ll watch their backs and help them in any way I can. I usually play in multiplayer mode because it is more interesting to have someone you trust with you along the way. It’s difficult when you’re playing alone because you don’t have someone watching your back while you gather items.

The art style and graphics are the best they can be for a mobile game, which makes it interesting to look at. There are four settings for the graphics—Ultra, Excellent, Balance, and Power Saving. The only difference among these is the amount of detail that can be seen. Though Fortnite and PUBG also have good graphics, Rules of Survival has more choices. For example, the Power Saving mode will make things look awkward and pixelated, but it saves a ton of battery for your phone.

Elijah Gonzales, a sophomore who plays Rules of Survival, stated, “It’s a game that sucks when you’re playing by yourself — it’s usually bland, stressful and boring. When you play with others, the deaths become funny and not frustrating. It is funny seeing everyone flail around. … I believe multiplayer is the best.”

Gamers agree that a game needs to be challenging to be fun, and Rules of Survival is, depending on how well a person plays shooter games.
In an SFHS survey, students shared why they liked to play Rules of Survival: 19 percent said it was fun to strategize, 57.1 percent said it was stressful but fun, and 23.8 percent said it was fun to play with friends. In another survey, the user Hoshook stated it was a great way to make friends because you can bond with the players and the ones on your team.

Iowa State University professor Douglas Gentile, who studies the effects of violent video games on children, says violent games “tap into a primal instinct,” according to National Public Radio. “These gamers do have an adrenaline rush, and it’s noradrenaline, and it’s testosterone, and it’s cortisol — these are the so-called stress hormones,” Gentile says. “That’s exactly the same cocktail of hormones [that would] drop into your bloodstream if I punched you.”

So if you like making friends and playing strategic games, then Rules of Survival could be a great choice.