Players Say Wardogs Playtest Recaptures the Nostalgia of Classic Gaming

Wardogs is an upcoming first-person shooter from Bulkhead that’s generating a lot of excitement. It aims to carve out a niche between casual shooters like Battlefield and Call of Duty, and the more hardcore, realistic experiences found in games like Escape from Tarkov and Squad. The feedback from the latest pre-alpha closed playtest has been overwhelmingly positive.

This playtest, which included 4,000 players, took place over two sessions on June 26–27. The demand was so high that developers had to enforce attendance rules: “If you don’t show, you’ll be swapped out for someone who will,” was noted in a pre-event post.

While there have been previous closed playtests, this one saw a significant increase in player count, leading to a wealth of feedback shared on social media.

“The movement and shooting felt really good, and the game ran great,” said YouTube creator AirwingMarine. “It takes all the stuff I personally love about Battlefield but also has that flair of progression and persistence that hooks you.” Another creator, MrAtomicDuck, simply stated, “They’ve nailed it.”

Aherys, a game director on the upcoming horror extraction shooter Beautiful Light, provided detailed feedback, praising the performance, gunplay, vehicles, and game mode. However, he noted that player visibility could use improvement, as spotting enemies in bushes was challenging. This concern was echoed by another user on Reddit. There were also mentions of balancing issues with sniper rifles, leading to some lobbies where everyone opted to use them.

Reddit user bargox321 described Wardogs as “everything I wanted Battlefield to be,” highlighting its perfect balance between the casual nature of Battlefield and the realism of Hell Let Loose or Squad. They mentioned a few technical issues but noted that their frame rate never dropped below 110, which is solid for most players. “For a pre-alpha build, I found it to be more polished than other games,” they concluded.

Twitch streamer ThatFriendlyGuy offered high praise, stating that the game feels “like the good old days of gaming.”

It seems Bulkhead has successfully captured the “dad game” vibes they were aiming for, as co-founder and CEO Joe Brammer mentioned in a recent interview. While details about the next Wardogs playtest are still under wraps, players can sign up on the official website to stay informed.