I really wasn’t planning on doing a review for this, it doesn’t really make sense to in 2022. This game came out 6 years ago, it’s the sequel to third-person online shooter Garden Warfare, which itself is a spinoff of Plants vs Zombies, a beloved wave defense game, and also isn’t the newest installment in the franchise, with Battle for Neighbourville releasing around 2 years ago. So it seems like a very niche choice of a review, hence why I was reluctant to tackle it. But seeing as I spend almost all of my free time playing it as of the last month, I feel I have to.

This game is unbelievably enjoyable. The variety in game modes both multiplayer and solo, as well as the sheer number of different classes and subclasses of both teams, results in a game I can play for hours on end and be satisfied with the time I’ve spent. I originally owned this title on the Xbox One at release, and played it a decent amount, but not enough to fully grasp how brilliant it was. Skip forward to this year, Steam finally (for some reason) gets the game on its platform, and I’m reintroduced to the Backyard Battleground yet again.

The sequel builds hugely upon what made the original Garden Warfare an unexpectedly brilliant concept. It brings back the original 8 unique classes (with 6 new ones), as well as the classic multiplayer modes, including the exceptional Garden Ops tower defense mode (now with Graveyard Ops alternative). What I’ve just mentioned, however, was the extent of the first game’s content, which isn’t to be overlooked. The replayability of the original was huge thanks to the customisable sub-classes, cosmetics to collect on top of gameplay that was downright fun, a quality that I think a lot of shooter games somehow don’t manage to achieve.

In comparison to the first game, the sequel unexpectedly packs a massive amount of new content via the new hub world/ backyard. This area, through which you navigate the rest of the game is a spectacle to behold and includes a huge array of single-player missions, access to the multiplayer game modes, collectibles, item shops, statistics, minigames, secrets, and different areas, all with constant AI enemies and allies fighting in the middle of a torn-apart suburbian battleground. I have spent hours upon hours just messing around in what is essentially the equivalent to the original games’ main menu, and thanks to the addictive gameplay, sound design, artwork, character models, and animation, it’s a joy to try out different characters against friends and AI alike, all within the comfort of the Backyard.

Every other day players are given sets of quests that fall under Plants, Zombies, and Multiplayer, which reward you for achieving certain specific criteria. This in turn pushes the player to try out characters, game modes, and minigames that they perhaps haven’t spent as much time in. The quest board is genius for that reason as it gives the incentive to explore every corner of the huge game, giving a hint to players who might never have realised there’s a hidden shooting range in the hub’s sewers.

So from a fairly straightforward, gun-toting Zombie Foot Soldier, to a laser beam firing, shield-wielding, Citron (Cyborg Orange, duh), the creative genius infused into the game is most apparent in the different playstyles available to try out. Having such vastly different characters and ways to play increases the playtime of the game tenfold, leaving me wanting to try every available variation on all my favourite characters, and switching up whenever I tire of familiar gameplay. It’s not just the gameplay on its own that oozes originality; the variety in map locations, with beautifully detailed backdrops and small details, create immaculately designed stages, that are a joy to uproot plants in. The odd poorly designed map elements such as Time Parks’ punishing portal mechanic is perhaps one of the only flaws I can find, but one that over time becomes almost its own quirky variation on a regular multiplayer game, not dissimilar to the constant spawn-killing chaos of Call Of Duty’s Nuketown.

Also new to this installment is a heavier emphasis on single-player content, having narrative-based missions populating the Backyard, offered by wacky characters with unique missions, some featuring gameplay styles only available through these solo ventures, such as piloting a Corn Cob fighter jet. Your role is to help possible crackhead Crazy Dave, or the Maniacally laughing Zomboss, turn the tide in the ongoing stalemate between the titular teams. These storylines eventually lead to an additional, insane new interdimensional battle of Robots vs Gnomes, that I wasn’t even aware of back when I had this on the Xbox, but who the hell could have assumed there was an additional full game mode hidden at the end of the solo game? I certainly wasn’t expecting it but was amazed at how enjoyable it was given that the general amount of players who own the game, probably don’t know it exists.

As I desperately try to find some kind of flaw with a multiplayer game I actually enjoy (for a change), I’m left only with the possibly locked achievements based on community events. Now I believe that some things just don’t happen anymore, thanks to the game being past its supported lifespan, leaving some achievements locked forever. This is a personal gripe as I have an addiction to 100% completing most games I play, but I can’t complain too much as there is still a week-long event game mode every month, on top of a still-active player base (and new players thanks to the Steam release) so honestly, I’m not even that mad at impossible achievements, which if you know me, is almost never the case.

So that’s why I’ve not been working on my Kirby Review and not been replaying Simpsons: Hit and Run so I can take a crack at that either. I’ve been addicted to this game. Like Insomniac’s Sunset Overdrive, I could spend hours playing with no clear objective, and enjoy every second of it. I’m put off most online shooters because they end up feeling like a waste of time, frustrating, unbalanced, or unenjoyable. But for once, a game delivers on the most crucial element in terms of replayability in an online game, that being, it’s consistently fun to play.