Bodycam is cashing in on arguably one of the most hyped PC games in quite some time. The hype stemmed from a clip released last year teasing a game called Unrecord. This photorealistic first person shooter was teased and then launched with an entry on Steam which went on to be wish listed by over 600,000 people. Some wondered if the whole thing was a scam or vapourware.
Now, a competing game studio has capitalised on that popularity and released Bodycam; a first step towards dismissing fears that photorealistic games like Unrecord won’t happen. But does this excitement alone make Bodycam worth a purchase, particularly when it’s still in early access?
What is Unrecord?
As I mentioned, Unrecord is a game that, as of yet, has only really been teased with a trailer. It’s a first-person shooter with two big unique angles. You are watching through a body cam, and it’s ultra realistic. Before I go any further, you should check that trailer out here:
Now that you’ve watched that, I have to point this out. That’s a game. All of what you saw there is gameplay. It’s hard to believe, but this is the power of Unreal Engine 5.
An absolute testament to the apparent leap in realism Unrecord is bringing is most visible in the accusations that this trailer was faked. Shot in real life with real actors. But it wasn’t, at least not to the best of my knowledge.
Now the internet and gamers waited. Some debate sparked around whether or not first-person shooters this realistic should exist or not. More of a debate in the United States to be fair.
But while the game devs keep working on Unrecord, Bodycam has snuck onto the market.
What is Bodycam?
Bodycam is, well, it’s the exact same premise as Unrecord really. The game is a online multiplayer first-person shooter where you view everything through a bodycam. The camera movement is designed to be realistic and the graphics make an attempt to follow suit with realism.
Admittedly, the game is in Early Access on Steam, and you can now pick it up for €30. But I don’t recommend you do that.
Many of the reviews I’ve read so far really dial up the “don’t play this if you’re easily disturbed or don’t like violence” angle. It’s over doing it to be honest. A few minutes into playing Bodycam and I quit because the gameplay was utterly awful. I get what they’re going for, but games should be playable first. Bodycam isn’t.
On top of the sluggish and frankly unplayable controls, the graphics are only ok. Now, I’ll give my dues to the game devs because the game looks good despite a relatively small install file size. But it’s a far cry from the game that Unrecord promises to deliver. I can hear the fans at their keyboards now: “give it time”, “you’re just bad this FPS” or “noob”. Fair points, but this review is for the average Joe getting tempted by a pretty trailer and Youtube influencers.
I’m gaming on a respectable setup in a AMD Radeon 7900 XTX and Ryzen 7 7700X CPU. Still, it was only ok. Not – “OMG life has changed” good, which I had expected.
For me, Bodycam is a cash in job on the hype job. And fair play to the devs for bringing out a product that’s gotten so many gamers interested and parting with their money for Early Access. Indeed, I’ve read the comments of countless people on Reddit who are delighted with the Bodycam so far. Youtubers galore are playing it saying it’s excellent. But Youtubers rarely refuse video opportunities either and Bodycam has piqued the interest of people around he world.
Considering it’s a cash in job, the game is relatively good. But I just don’t see this game as being fun. And I definitely can’t recommend anyone parting with their money for Early Access to Bodycam. At least wait for this bun to bake a little longer in the oven.