Now that Apex Legends Mobile is officially available on Android, it's time to dive into the minutiae to see how this mobile interpretation stacks up. This is precisely why I've recorded a 30-minute gameplay video to illustrate what my experience has been, all while detailing mechanics and features in today's hands-on, ensuring everyone will understand what the mobile game offers. As it stands, Tencent's Lightspeed & Quantum Studios had its work cut out for itself, having to reimagine Respawn Entertainment's tightly polished battle royale as a ground-up mobile release. So let's dig in and see how well things stack up to the original.

Gameplay

Directly above, you can watch my gameplay video of Apex Legends Mobile, which shows the game's settings, monetization, and of course, gameplay. It's about a half-hour long, recorded at 1080p 60FPS on a ROG 5 using the default UltraHD graphical setting (paired with Ultra for the separate framerate setting).

Performance on the ROG 5 is pretty stable, and while the phone does get warm, dropped frames aren't too common, with things holding stable at the settings listed above.

Of course, Apex Legends Mobile is a mobile adaptation of the console and PC battle royale, created from the ground up by Lightspeed & Quantum Studios (I.E., Tencent). This is the same studio behind PUBG Mobile, and there are plenty of similarities, not only because these are both games within the same battle royale genre, both offer similar cluttered UIs that are often part and parcel with mobile shooters. Still, Apex Legends Mobile is more than a skin slapped on top of PUBG, with gameplay that should feel familiar to any fan of the original. That's to say; Apex Legends Mobile is just as complicated as the console/PC game, which may or may not appeal to potential fans.

For the most part, the gameplay is centered around battle royale play, with ranked matches that open up once you hit level 8. There are also a few extra multiplayer modes, such as Base Respawn and Arenas. You can also dip into the tutorial at any time, and there's a practice mode for those that need to get to grips with the game's weapons and general controls (highly recommended if it's your first time playing).

Keep in mind Apex Legends Mobile is a standalone release separate from the core game, so there's no cross-play with consoles and PC, mobile players are stuck playing between Android and iOS, which will limit the player count; hence the bots that make it easier to quickly match.

While the initial launch was a little rough, with tons of bugs abound, things appear to have evened out in the last 24-hours, as matches are now kicking off without a hitch. So it would seem release day server-side issues may have offered a poor impression of a game that now behaves as one would expect, which is great to see.

More or less, from a gameplay and performance perspective, Apex Legends Mobile is a perfectly acceptable facsimile of the real thing.

Controls

The controls are where things take a bad turn. The touch controls aren't great. Anyone that's played Apex Legends on PC or consoles will know full well the game is somewhat complicated, where situational awareness (and heavy memorization) is key, along with the ability to quickly spot pickups and enemies. There's a fluidity to the controls that develops with time in Respawn's version, but even if you're familiar with the game, this all goes out the window with 15 buttons spread across a tiny screen, half of which are covered by your hands as you hold your phone. This is a game originally designed around twitch-like shooting, and touch controls hardly do the gameplay justice.

Sure, those that are used to touch controls probably won't have many complaints, and you can even choose between a couple of default layouts, one that should be familiar to mobile battle royale players and another that tweaks things to add in a couple of extra buttons specific to Apex Legends. You can even customize these layouts to your heart's content, which is appreciated as the defaults place many of the more critical buttons too close together (like shoot, couch, and jump).

Thankfully Lightspeed & Quantum Studios has included controller support, but so far, it's implemented poorly. First off, you can't use any controller, only Xbox and PlayStation controllers are supported despite the native HID support built into Android, and they only work over bluetooth, not USB. So even if you own an Android-supported controller, like the Razer Kishi. Guess what, it doesn't work. Plus, if you do happen to own an Xbox or PlayStation controller, they only work in matches, so you still have to continually touch your screen in every menu. Sure, matches play a heck of a lot better if you have an Xbox controller laying around, but this means competitive play will be tough without one.

But here's the thing, bluetooth controllers create latency, and it's noticeable in Apex Legends Mobile. I was using the latest Xbox Wireless Controller, and you can see in the gameplay I often swing the gun wildly. Thanks to the latency caused by the bluetooth connection, it's no better on Xbox One controllers or PlayStation 3 controllers, as I tested those too. This is a bummer as the game would be much better if we could connect a controller over USB, as that removes the latency inherent to bluetooth.

Why Lightspeed & Quantum Studios excluded USB controller support as well as Android's native HID support, I don't know, but sadly even playing with a controller is limited and worse than console or PC play. I'll still use one, as a physical controller connected over bluetooth is still better than the touchscreen controls, but I'd hardly call the control situation for Apex Legends Mobile great, that's for sure.

Graphics

As far as the graphics are concerned, they are pretty good for a mobile game. This title was built on Unreal Engine 4, and it definitely looks like it. What's nice is that there are plenty of graphical settings to tweak to dial in performance and the game's general look. You can even adjust things like field of view for the game's third and first-person views, plus you can turn on bloom, turn off the grass, and scale the UI, with five graphical defaults that range from smooth to ExtremeHD. You can even adjust framerate importance, with adaptive smoothing and dynamic shadows as an option to keep things running well even if you go hog wild with the highest settings possible.

Yes, the game is demanding, and on the higher graphical settings, your device will get hot. This is unavoidable without active cooling, but at least Lightspeed & Quantum Studios bothered to offer as many graphical options as there are so that everyone can choose what best suits their preferences and device needs.

As an example of how I enjoy the graphics, I've found the PC game to be a lesson in frustration on maximum settings as you can never see who is shooting you or who you are shooting at. It's my primary complaint on PC, and on mobile, it's not an issue whatsoever, even on a small screen. Perhaps this is thanks to enemies being highlighted, but boy, am I having much more fun on mobile running and gunning instead of constantly being forced to camp. Perhaps it's just early days with bots in matches that make the difference, but having the ability to see what you're shooting at, even on a small screen, is a killer feature over the original, at least in my opinion. Hardcore players may disagree, but it sure makes the game feel much more welcoming to newbies.

Monetization

Like all free-to-play battle royales, Apex Legends Mobile is packed with ways to spend money. Mostly on things like skins, banners, and emotes, but there's also a battle pass, which includes a free level, and you can also pay for the chance to earn better rewards by subscribing to the Premium Pass or the Premium Pass Plus (yep, there are two classes of BP subscriptions). It's a familiar setup that leans hard on FOMO, which I can't say I'm a fan of, but at least doesn't ruin gameplay with pay-to-win items.

A Premium Pass runs for 799 of the in-game currency, and the Premium Pass Plus is 1599. When converting to coin packs, this equals out to $9.99 for 935 coins or $24.99 for 2340 coins, purposefully creating a situation where people will lose track of what they are spending since none of the pricing for the in-game currency is comparable to the cost of items. This is a common and smarmy tactic that should be expected in just about any F2P Electronic Arts game, especially one developed by Tencent.

Final thoughts

For me, Apex Legends Mobile offers a good time, at least for quick matches during my downtime. I'm still going to play on PC when I really want to sit down for a session, but for on-the-go play, Apex Legends Mobile is plenty good enough. Yes, the controls are a bother, and Lightspeed & Quantum Studios should have done a better job polishing the onscreen controls as well as controller support before release. Still, inadequate controls in a shooter on mobile is hardly anything new, so it's not surprising, and I'm sure things will get better with time.

All in all, my first impression of Apex Legends Mobile wasn't great, thanks to a bunch of bugs, but today things have evened out, and there's definitely enough fun to be had that makes the download worthwhile. So if you're a regular Apex Legends player looking to branch out in your spare time or simply want to explore the latest high profile battle royale to land on mobile, there's no actual harm in taking a look. While I wouldn't say Apex Legends Mobile is a replacement for the console or PC version, it is a fun title to screw around with when away from your primary gaming setup.