Apex Legends Season 3 - Meltdown is coming, and the new launch trailer makes the upcoming season look like the best one developer Respawn has cooked up in some time, with the release of a new map, exciting new Legend, and a new weapon in the Charge Rifle. Apex Legends is one of the most popular battle royale titles in the world, but it has fallen off considerably from the dizzying peaks it experienced within the first few months of its surprise launch back in February of this year.
Then, it seemed like Apex Legends was on pace to challenge Fortnite for the crown of the world’s most popular battle royale game, with a growth rate that outstripped the Epic Games’ developed title when comparing milestones. Then, the first Apex Legends Battle Pass was revealed, and all of its momentum ground to a halt over concerns that it simply wasn’t enough, both in terms of quality of content and amount of new additions. Whether that’s a product of the fact that Fortnite has conditioned players of the battle royale genre to expect flurries of meaningful updates at short-term intervals remains unproven, but the tangible outcome of the situation was that Apex Legends quickly ceded its place as a legitimate challenger and settled into a strong contender for second-most popular battle royale instead.
Naturally, Respawn and publisher EA would both like to regain the buzz that seemed to come so easy during the early months of Apex Legends, and the Season 3 - Meltdown launch trailer suggests that could be possible. The trailer is by far the most compelling the game has been in terms of story updates, character personalities, and map design, with the new World’s Edge map looking like an exciting and extremely different addition to the game’s landscape. That, coupled with the introduction of an exciting new character in Crypto, could be more than enough to generate some renewed interest in what remains one of the most mechanically sound titles of 2019.
The trailer’s production quality is top-notch, but it’s the content being promised that will entice lapsed Apex Legends players into giving Season 3 - Meltdown a shot. The World’s Edge map adds a train that moves across the landscape as players navigate skyscrapers, molten lava, and hot air-geysers that will launch characters through the sky and make for some interesting tactical decision-making. Crypto is already an exciting addition too, one that could broaden the competitive pool should they occupy a role that isn’t already being smothered by someone else. Wattson has been a fun, if not somewhat underwhelming, inclusion into Apex Legends, and it feels like Respawn has got the content production process post-launch down.
That’s good news for Apex Legends, which is still one of the most fun games to emerge out of an incredibly competitive 2019. It’s hard to find much better multiplayer gameplay with the level of consistency Respawn’s title has, and if the new season adds a bit more flash and a lot more content over the course of its third try, Apex Legends could be poised for a major comeback to close out 2019.
Next: Apex Legends: Every Weapon From Worst To Best, Officially Ranked
Source: Apex Legends/YouTube
