2018 is the break out year for Battle Royale games. Almost everyone I know, young or old is playing Fortnite, PubG, or some other battle royale game. The battle royale craze is everywhere right now and it’s not going to stop for a while. There is even free online battle royale games being developed for PC web browsers and some of them are quite good. Web browser based battle royale games (AKA: .io battle royales) don’t compare to popular big-budget downloadable titles. But if you’re bored at work or school these games can be a lot of fun. After playing more than 20 of these battle royale games online I have compiled a ranked list of the 10 best so far. When new worthy games are released this article will be updated.
10. SkyRoyale.io
– Play SkyRoyale.io
SkyRoyale.io is the only 2D flight combat game on this list. It’s a mini battle royale because you’re in an arena with only 4 online players. The object of the game is to kill all 3 online players until you’re the last one standing. After you die in a match you have the choice to watch a video ad to be revived one more time. Your airplane is armed with missiles and a regenerating cloaking power.The clocking power works best when you’re trying to defensively avoid enemy attacks. You can also pick up power-ups on the map such as health and shield.
Overall this is a very basic battle royale game. There’s no kill/win stat tracking available and the game only has 4 different skins to unlock. If you like 2D top-down airplane fighting SkyRoyale might be the game for you.
– Gameplay video
9. Foes.io
– Play Foes.io
Foes.io is a basic top-down 2D battle royale with colorful graphics. I like and dislike Foes.io. What I like most about this game is the ability to drive cars and run over players. No other 2D battle royale lets you drive cars (from what I played). I also like the massive skin selection available for starter players. Foes shooting and melee combat mechanics are solid, and the character movements feel right. What I dislike most about this game is the weapon variety, active player count, and random lag. Not having a decent variety of weapons to use and only being able to pick up 2 weapons at a time isn’t fun.
I have seen around 16 active players in a match but it’s usually around 4 to 10, which is a drag because the matches are empty. Even with all the negatives, Foes is still a decent game to play as long as you don’t expect full player matches. Overall Foes has a strong base. With some updates and additions, it could be a great .io battle royale game.
– Gameplay video
8. Diggerz.IO
– Play Diggerz.IO
Diggerz.IO feels like a 2D worms game mixed with Minecraft. When you launch Diggerz you’ll spawn in a small map where you can fight above or below ground. I have seen up to 15 players in the map at a time. Your goal is to be the last one standing and to collect coins. Coins can be collected by killing opponents or winning a match. At the main menu, you can spend the coins you’ve earned at the “equip” shop to buy different skins for your character. My favorite skin item is the Horse Head, but it costs 1,000 coins :(. There’s a couple of different guns and building materials to choose from. With your pickaxe, you can dig further or harvest more building materials. Overall Diggerz building and combat mechanics are pretty basic, but bored kids will probably have a lot of fun with this game.
– Gameplay video
7. BattleRoyale.IO
– Play BattleRoyale.IO
BattleRoyale.IO came out about 2 weeks ago and it’s already impressive. BattleRoyale.IO has better graphics than any other 2D Battle Royale game I have seen so far. The textures and shadows are high quality. The animations and art style is addicting to look at. Got to love that flamethrower :). It has a unique cyberpunk look to it. It’s rare for a .IO game to feel and look this good at launch. There is already a decent variety of weapons available and full social media login support with Kill/Win stat tracking.
I did experience some lag while playing and most matches are filled with bots at the moment until player-base rises high enough. Some of the bots are smart though and challenging to fight against. Even in its alpha stage, BattleRoyale.IO is already a decent game, but with a few updates, additions, and more recognition this could be one the more popular .io royales.
6. War Brokers
– Play War Brokers
War Brokers confuses me! I think it’s the best web browser based 3D first-person shooter Battle Royale game so far, but for some reason, it has a low player count? There’s a team deathmatch mode in War Brokers that’s packed with players. Maybe no one knows about War Brokers new Battle Royale mode yet? I’m not sure but War Brokers deserves more battle royale players. The graphics are solid and the art design takes strong inspiration from Minecraft.
After diving out of an airplane you land on a desert map full of wilderness, bases, and houses. There is a variety of guns to find. The gunplay feels nice, better than other similar 3D games. I have played three other web-based games similar to War Brokers, but they don’t compare to it. The other three games feel broken in areas. Hopefully, kill/win stat tracking will be added to War Brokers eventually and updates boost up its active player count.
– Gameplay video
5. Build Royale
– Play Build Royale
Build Royale is the only 2D web browser royale that lets you harvest materials and build basic walls. Of course, this concept was taken from Fortnite, but it works well in Build Royale. When shot unexpectedly I have put up numerous boxed walls that have ended up saving my life. Build Royale plays and looks a little like Surviv.IO, (Ranked #2 on this list), but Build Royale’s is lacking a lot of features and has some issues. I can’t go too hard on this game because it only released about a month ago and is still in alpha.
I’m sure the developers plan on adding and fixing everything I’m about to complain about. There are no login features so kill/win stat tracking isn’t possible at the moment. Weapon variety also seems limited, but there are different colored weapon ranks. The movement feels a little too slow for my taste and even worse when the game lags. I experienced a lot of random lag in this game. Surprisingly even with all of the faults in Build Royale it has a highly active player count and is still fun to play. Hopefully, Build Royales developer continues his active updates because this game has great potential.
– Gameplay video
4. Bruh.IO
– Play Bruh.io
Bruh.IO tries to be as realistic as possible in a 2D skin. I love the clean 16-Bit style pixel graphics used for the characters and the environment. Bruh.IO doesn’t use the standard top-down view seen in most .io royale games, you can actually see your characters face in this game. The games guns are brutal, you better have fast reflexes or you will die quickly. I also noticed it’s a little more tactical than other similar games, which is a good thing.
I am happy that Bruh.io has tons of custom character and gun skins available for logged in users. Optional skins can be earned or bought with real money. The game has full stat tracking support and server selection. I have a gripe about the servers though, it seems like either Germany or New York servers are most active. If you happen to live in California like me or some other far location you’ll probably have a ping around 80 to 200 even with fast internet. I think adding Duos or Squad modes would greatly benefit Bruh.IO.
– Gameplay video
3. Mope.io & Agar.io
– Play Mope.io | – Play Agar.io
If you like kill, eat, and grow .io games such as Slither.io or Agar.io you will probably love Mope.io. Mope.io is about growing up the animal food chain. You’ll start off as a small animal that can eat other small animals. As you eat more you’ll gain XP to transform into larger animals. Your goal is to become the largest animal in the match. Each animal has a unique ability perk that comes in handy versus certain animal species. You must keep your water bar full (by drinking water) or your selected animal will die.
A battle royale mode was recently added to Mope.IO, with the original gameplay concept, except the last surviving animal wins the match. The Battle Royale player-base is very large, I have seen over 150 players in a single match. Overall Mope.io is an addicting animal eating Royale that requires a lot of practice and strategy if you plan on winning a match.
EDIT: After writing this article I found out Agar.io recently added in a Battle Royale mode also. Since Mope.io and Agar.io are similar to each other and equally fun, I decided to place them together on this list.
– Gameplay video
2. Surviv.IO
– Play Surviv.IO
Surviv.IO might look simple but its gameplay is very complex and it has a lot to offer. Surviv’s graphics look like an old early 2000’s flash game, they’re that bad. But in .io royales graphics don’t matter much, gameplay is much more important and Surviv.IO really shines in this department. There is a large amount of different colored ranked guns available to find. Each gun is balanced well, probably better than any similar game. There are different leveled armored vests, similar to PubG and COD: Black Out.
The character movement is fast and smooth in this game, it feels really nice and responsive. You have the ability to play solo, duos, or squad modes, with full kill/win stat tracking and friend invites. On average there are over 5,000 players in North America playing at all times, so finding a match is never a problem. The servers are generally stable, but I did experience a little lag at times. I also noticed there wasn’t any unlockables or skins available, which is a shame. Overall Surviv.IO is currently the top played Browser based Royale game and is worth checking out.
– Gameplay video
1. Zombs Royale
– Play Zombs Royale
I absolutely love Zombs Royale. It’s my top pick as the best web browser battle royale game so far. Everything about Zombs Royale screams “High Quality”. You can tell the developers tried there best to create the full Fortnite (minus the building mechanics) battle royale experience in web browsers. Zombs Royale’s in-game menus are super clean and easy to navigate. Adding and inviting friends in Zombs is fast and works every time. Zombs offers three Battle Royale modes to choose from including solo, duos, and squad matches. This game even has its own free and premium battle passes just like Fortnite, full of clothing and parachute skins to unlock.
I also love the weapon variety and ranked classes in Zombs. The weapon classes don’t stop at gold legendary, there’s also an even higher powered weapon class available called “red mythic”. The gameplay is really smooth with less lag than most .io games. The gameplay is easy to learn with a little practice. I like that the available loot in Zombs is very generous. Loot boxes and treasure chests can be found everywhere across the map, along with the occasional supply airdrops. Overall there are too many great things to say about Zombs Royale. In my opinion, it’s ahead of the competition by a large margin.
* Honorable Mentions *
The following games barely missed our ranked top list. If you become bored of the games in the top 10 list I recommend checking these out also.
MOBG.IO – One of the older .io royales. MOBG.IO hasn’t aged too well, there isn’t any sound and its gameplay is extremely slow. It might be tolerable on mobile web browsers, but on PC browsers it’s not.
Battlepoint.io – Similar to Bruh.io’s 16-bit graphics and gameplay style, but even more basic and limited. It’s not bad, but you might as well play Bruh.io instead.
5 Minutes To Kill – Even more basic than Battlepoint.io . Not sure why anyone would play this over other better Royale games.
Bois.io – I wanted to like this 3D first-person shooter, but it felt half broken and unfinished to me. It’s full bugs, glitches, and lag. Having to jump to the giant square at the beginning of the match is annoying. The guns also feel unbalanced and odd. Surprisingly Bois.io does have a decent player-base though. If the developer can iron out its issues and make some needed changes, it could be a great game.
Battle Royale By GameFlare – I thought this 3D first-person shooter was solid. It felt decent and runs well. It’s similar to War Brokers from a quality and gameplay point of view. There’s only one problem though! No one is playing this game online. When you enter a match you are thrown in with 49 dumb AI bots! I’m not a fan of dumb bots.
Masked Forces 3 – A 3D first-person shooter that has online players. The glitches and generic look of it made me quit and never look back after 10 minutes of play. Young kids might like this game though.
Alcolyte Fight – A bizarre up to 10 players fighting royale game. circles fight in an arena blasting each other with magic attacks. Last one standing wins the match. I did not like the attack buttons, it just wasn’t my thing. Some gamers will probably enjoy the complexity of Alcolyte Fight though.
