Blacklight: Retribution

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 198 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 72 out of 198
  2. Mixed: 68 out of 198
  3. Negative: 58 out of 198

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  1. BerserkerPSN
    Nov 22, 2013
    7
    About a year after launching on the PC, Blacklight: Retribution has finally made its way to the PlayStation Store. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Blacklight series, they're essentially a collection of "free-to-play" first person MMO's. The series has never really caught on, however, in a time when great games like Planetside 2 and TF2 dominate the free-to-play FPS market.About a year after launching on the PC, Blacklight: Retribution has finally made its way to the PlayStation Store. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Blacklight series, they're essentially a collection of "free-to-play" first person MMO's. The series has never really caught on, however, in a time when great games like Planetside 2 and TF2 dominate the free-to-play FPS market. Despite this, Zombie Studios has nevertheless decided to rerelease the series's latest release, Blacklight: Retribution, on the PS4. Unfortunately, Blacklight's debut on the PS4 suffers from much of what crippled it in in the past. The game of what crippled it in the past Even with a solid connection, the game will occasionally lag, and finding a match often took several minutes. Considering the game is still in its beta phase, these flaws are understandable, although they do make the game feel rushed. As is the case with most free-to-play games, Retribution sports a pay-to-win philosophy. In other words, you provide the cash, and the game provides the weaponry. This aspect drastically changes the experience, as even the most skilled players are mauled down by recruits with heavy arsenals. However, once you get past the rather unfair side of Retribution, the game can actually be quite fun. Great map design and well though out game types make Retribution worth checking out. In terms of visuals, Retribution looks great for a free-to-play, but poor for a next generation title. Textures lack in detail, and none of the environments stand out. If there's one thing in Retribution that looks great, its the guns. Each weapon has its own feel and look, adding to the experience. Overall, Retribution doesn't disappoint, but it doesn't stand out either. If you some free time, and are craving a quick multiplayer match, look no further than Blacklight: Retribution.… Expand
  2. ApetheticDonut
    Feb 3, 2014
    7
    Blacklight: Retribution is a major improvement over BL: Tango Down, especially for a free to play title. The game had its fair share of glitches, and frame rate issues, but they will be ironed out once the game gets out of beta (On PS4, PC plays perfectly). This game plays like the perfect hybrid of Call Of Duty style faced paced gameplay with the physics of a Halo title. The jumps areBlacklight: Retribution is a major improvement over BL: Tango Down, especially for a free to play title. The game had its fair share of glitches, and frame rate issues, but they will be ironed out once the game gets out of beta (On PS4, PC plays perfectly). This game plays like the perfect hybrid of Call Of Duty style faced paced gameplay with the physics of a Halo title. The jumps are floaty, but the gun physics feel punchy and sound like futuristic beasts. The graphics aren't super amazing like Battlefield, but they do look cool, and the map design is very good. The game also features heavy gun customizations, from stocks to scopes, everything but camos effect your guns stats, even keychains. This leads to very cool ways of making your guns match your play style. You can up your stopping power in return for lowered speed and agility, lower your accuracy and up your recoil in turn for fast movement and weapon handling, or balance the two for a perfect for all situations. As a gun enthusiast, this is a very cool feature and adds a new element to the FPS genre games like Battlefield and Call of Duty wish they could do. While it isn't fully finished, Blacklight: Retribution shows great promise as a PS4 F2P title, and once the game is out of beta, I would say check it out, as it does have connectivity issues and frame rate problems at the moment.… Expand
  3. sityoazzdown
    Jan 23, 2014
    6
    not an casual nor is it an hardcore fps game, not sure what the target audience the developers were aiming for nonetheless a very generic fps; and that was before I found out you can scan to see where your enemies are, which made it worst. still playable but with cod kz battlefield out there why would I or anyone else bother, especially if it's a pay to win format like most free to play are?
  4. Dukay66
    Feb 26, 2014
    5
    Blacklight: Retribution on the PS4 is a mixed bag. Core game-play is what you've come to expect with modern day first person shooters and is quit fun, although a bit glitchy at times. The graphics are okay, but with most levels being very well lit, you can see many flaws. The main problem with Blacklight is it prompts you at every turn to spend money. From guns, attachments andBlacklight: Retribution on the PS4 is a mixed bag. Core game-play is what you've come to expect with modern day first person shooters and is quit fun, although a bit glitchy at times. The graphics are okay, but with most levels being very well lit, you can see many flaws. The main problem with Blacklight is it prompts you at every turn to spend money. From guns, attachments and customization options Blacklight practically begs you to pay up. I refuse to do so and if you refuse also, Blacklight gets old very fast. You only have one gun with a pistol, if you want another you must pay. While I hope on every now and again to get my arcade run and gun fix, it's nothing worth spending hours playing.… Expand
  5. unluckydice
    Aug 3, 2014
    5
    Blacklight Retribution like most free to play games is a great example of why free to play games shouldn't be called free to play games, ooo but wait it's free to play but at a cost? for example hours of grinding just for an attachment for a gun. If your a fan of FPS fast paced shooting similar to cod then this is the game for you but don't expect to be fully loaded with the best gearBlacklight Retribution like most free to play games is a great example of why free to play games shouldn't be called free to play games, ooo but wait it's free to play but at a cost? for example hours of grinding just for an attachment for a gun. If your a fan of FPS fast paced shooting similar to cod then this is the game for you but don't expect to be fully loaded with the best gear without having to spend a buck to even have an advantage.… Expand
  6. sonygamer97
    Feb 20, 2014
    7
    For a Free-To-Play FPS, this game was actually pretty decent. It's a little harder to unlock tokens needed
    to buy attachments than it should be in my opinion, but, generally speaking, and considering the fact that the game is free, it is definitely a game worth downloading. It's not a game I would necessarily choose to play over other titles such as Battlefield 4 or Call of Duty, but    For a Free-To-Play FPS, this game was actually pretty decent. It's a little harder to unlock tokens needed
    to buy attachments than it should be in my opinion, but, generally speaking, and considering the fact that the game is free, it is definitely a game worth downloading. It's not a game I would necessarily choose to play over other titles such as Battlefield 4 or Call of Duty, but it's definitely not a game I would use as a last resort. The only downside is that the graphics and character movement seems almost semi-lagging to me and without the lag, I still find it relatively difficult to adjust to if you are a classic Call of Duty gamer. They offer some pretty cool features as far as customization. You can customize each part on your weapon and customize your character as well. Generally, it was a positively interesting online gaming experience.    … Expand
  7. 2shoog
    Mar 1, 2014
    7
    I am really enjoying this game. As you kill more and more you build up credits in order to buy upgrades and special guns and a mini-Titanfall robot you get in and shoot like a tank or minigun. It is really solid gameplay and the guns are fun to discover and especially fun to shoot. I prefer BF4 over Cod-G however I really like how the guns shoot in Cod-G. All the guns feel the same in BF4I am really enjoying this game. As you kill more and more you build up credits in order to buy upgrades and special guns and a mini-Titanfall robot you get in and shoot like a tank or minigun. It is really solid gameplay and the guns are fun to discover and especially fun to shoot. I prefer BF4 over Cod-G however I really like how the guns shoot in Cod-G. All the guns feel the same in BF4 but in Cod-G they are more "solid" and distinct...like the AK-12 on Cod is amazing but in BF4 it's "meh". Blacklight guns shoot like Cod guns. Also there is a Halo-type visor so when you press R1 it displays where everyone is as you look as if there were no walls or see-through walls for a second or two. I especially like that on this game I am always near the top scores where-as in BF4 and Cod-G I am usually near the middle. I think a fair and reasonable score is 8/10 WITH a disclaimer saying it LOOKS like a PS3 game. Nothing "Next-gen" here which pulls it down to 7/10.… Expand
  8. sandpants
    Sep 9, 2014
    7
    All these kids have no clue what P2W is.
    The trend is that if you cannot get everything for a flat amount and then get it within your own time at your own pace it "gotta be P2W that that dude killed me bro, no other explanation". These accusation were on the PC as well and quite frankly are a load of bollocks - I got my 10ZEN for a Netflix signup and spent it on camo. I bought everything    All these kids have no clue what P2W is.
    The trend is that if you cannot get everything for a flat amount and then get it within your own time at your own pace it "gotta be P2W that that dude killed me bro, no other explanation". These accusation were on the PC as well and quite frankly are a load of bollocks - I got my 10ZEN for a Netflix signup and spent it on camo. I bought everything else with ingame currency and the starting gear lasted me a long long while.
    This is like crying that PS2 is P2W when people have sub 10BR characters across 6 servers and get 2k/d in 48vs48 fights.
    TL;DR don't take up on the tears about games being P2W. Do your research and find out if there is anything that is simply far out of reach without cashing in big time. BL:R never had anything like that, and it would be dumb of Zombie to steer away from that.    … Expand
  9. tormentor55
    Nov 8, 2014
    7
    Blacklight Retribution is a mixed bag. (Ps4 version.) The game itself is pretty fun and the maps are pretty fun (although there should be more maps) the guns are pretty cool. However, this game is premium after all so it demands that you pay money. The thing is if you buy their pass ($5) It unlocks MOST guns and items for you to buy with the in-game currency. From here the review splitsBlacklight Retribution is a mixed bag. (Ps4 version.) The game itself is pretty fun and the maps are pretty fun (although there should be more maps) the guns are pretty cool. However, this game is premium after all so it demands that you pay money. The thing is if you buy their pass ($5) It unlocks MOST guns and items for you to buy with the in-game currency. From here the review splits into two portions, whether or not you paid the 5 bucks.
    If you did pay 5 bucks- Congratulations! You're actually enjoying the game and able to take full advantage of the game's STRONGEST feature: Customization. Seriously, this game's customization truly makes you feel like a gun manufacturer and you can customize EVERYTHING about your character and it helps you go though the minor grinding this game has you do. The game still isn't perfect since it still has bugs and glitches and can be unstable at times. The HRV and depot and customization all make black-light retribution a flawed but good FPS. (score-7.5)

    If you didn't pay the 5 bucks- You're absolutely raging how this is a pay to win game (Which it sort of is to a certain extent. Depends on where the money is used on. To me buying the pass is ok.) You're probably spending half your time in the game staring at all the guns and parts and armor in the shop wishing you could permanently buy them for free. You're also probably getting your ass handed to you by those who spend like $50 on this game (I support your frustration) and probably already went AWOL by now. Telling you to spend 5 bucks probably won't cheer you up so I won't force you. (Score 5-6 depending on your internet and glitch issues.)
    Ironically when I was looking at Advanced Warfare game play it looked just like blacklight retribution.    … Expand
  10. boy_number_8
    Aug 11, 2018
    5
    The game could be a lot of fun if it wasn't filled for with a bunch of bugs.
    In my experiences the game likes to have who ever has the worse connection to host. This means the majority of the time you are left lagging and getting frustrated when you're just about to kill someone for them to then dissapear, reappear behind you and kill you.
    As for the pay to play aspect, personally i    The game could be a lot of fun if it wasn't filled for with a bunch of bugs.
    In my experiences the game likes to have who ever has the worse connection to host. This means the majority of the time you are left lagging and getting frustrated when you're just about to kill someone for them to then dissapear, reappear behind you and kill you.

    As for the pay to play aspect, personally i don't find it that important. Unless you want a new gun, taunt or player design, its not really worth the money to upgrade anything.
    Ive noticed in the many games i've played that players as high as level 25 will still use the same class set up you're given at lvl one.
    I do think this game is worth more than the five i gave it, but until the bugs are fixed i'm unable to fully enjoy.    … Expand
  11. AngelSlayr
    Apr 7, 2020
    5
    Pay to win mostly, it takes so long to get anything because of it, like seriously I love the gameplay and the graphics, if it wasnt so pay to win I would love to play it more

Awards & Rankings

25
#25 Best PS4 Game of 2013
15
#15 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2013
12
#12 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Mar 3, 2014
    80
    It lacks the bells and whistles, but give Blacklight a chance and you'll be pleasantly surprised. [January 2014, p79]
  2. games(TM)
    Jan 23, 2014
    70
    If you've a passing interest in blasting chumps and don't fancy dropping 50 quid for the privilege, Blacklight: Retribution is a more than serviceable option. [Issue#143, p.105]
  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jan 21, 2014
    50
    In its defence, Retribution is free to play – so while it can’t compete with Killzone Shadow Fall, that’s an unfair expectation to begin with. But it’s still a PS4 release, and in this regard feels like a grubby stowaway that’s snuck aboard a glitzy cruise liner bound for the golden shores of next-gen.
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