Two weeks ago, "Operation Oracle" dropped for Ghost Recon Wildlands and introduced a new character - Major Cole D. Walker (voiced by Jon Bernthal) - along with a couple missions featuring him. Ubisoft also teased that these missions would "challenge your perception of the truth [within the game world]" and that what you "discover here might very well set the scene for the future." A week later, that future was revealed as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint and - surprise! - Bernthal will be returning as Walker and the primary antagonist.
Following on the events of "Operation Oracle," Breakpoint takes you from the jungles of Bolivia to the remote Auroa Archipelago, the home of the fictional technology giant Skell Technology. The archipelago features "11 unique biomes" ranging from deserts to snow-capped peaks (i.e., "we had to think of SOME kind of reason to let you run around different environments) and it's used by Skell to test out their autonomous drones, which is bad news for you as Walker and his army of "Wolves" is using those drones against you. Walker's exact purpose for taking over the island isn't clear, but you know he's gotta be up to no good.
There are a number of improvements/tweaks that Breakpoint will feature over Wildlands and many of these are detailed over a number of news posts over on the official website, but here's a quick summary of a few key things:
- There will be a 4-man raid post-launch: Just like Wildlands, Breakpoint will support 4 player online drop-in/drop-out co-op throughout the campaign. When you're done tearing through the story and looking for something to do other than run around the island of Auroa, there will be a raid set on another island close to there with an active volcano on it (hello, Mr. Bond). More details about that will come in the future.
- There will be 4 playable character classes: Part of what Ubisoft is focusing on this time around is that progression is entirely shared between PvE (the campaign/open-world game) and PvP (Ghost War). There are different classes you can play (2 are shown in the video above) and your progression with theses classes will be carried over between the two different modes so you're free to do what you want.
- New enemies, new stealth options, new AI, and wound management: While your primary adversaries will be the Wolves, you'll also be up against the Private Military Contractor (PMC) Sentinel. All of these foes will have improved A.I. Speaking of A.I., in order to stick to the scenario they're setting up here, Ubisoft is taking away your A.I. teammates (if playing solo) and replacing them with drones, who will be able to shoot at foes but can't revive you or heal you. Speaking of getting hurt, now when you get shot, you'll feel it via different tiers of damage that will impact your stamina, ability to run, and shoot, so be sure to heal up!
Many of these changes are interesting and seem like a little blending between the Ghost Recon and Division franchises, which isn't a bad thing. I'm looking forward to hearing more about this title over the coming months. If you want to hop into the game before its October 4 release, there's a beta sign-up available, though no indication as to when that beta will be.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint will launch on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on October 4, 2019. Four player online drop-in/drop-out co-op will be supported throughout the campaign and open-world.