FAU-G is a new game that intends to take on battle royale games like PUBG Mobile, Mobile Legends, and even Fortnite. But, the game is loosely based on the India-China border clashes of 2020, in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred.

Following the conflict, India banned many Chinese apps and vowed to become more self-reliant. The clashes were met with massive outrage in India because the anti-China sentiment was consistently rising ever since the origin of Coronavirus was traced back to the Chinese city of Wuhan.

For the general public, the virus’s origin and China’s border aggression created a deadly combination. India’s Narendra Modi-led government has a soft corner for nationalism, and it wasted no time to hit back in its own way. Within a few days, India started its campaign to reduce dependence on China and become Atmanirbhar or self-sufficient.

India bans or restricts Chinese companies

TikTok was the first one to get crushed. Followed by hundreds of others. And then, it was time for PUBG Mobile. Indians love the game and were caught in a strange predicament — play a Tencent (Chinese) distributed game or stand with your country? The answer was clear. PUBG Mobile went off the app stores, and a few die-hard folks who couldn’t part ways with the game found turnarounds like VPNs and external installations.

This where a new game comes into the picture. An Indian developer based out of Bengaluru saw an opportunity, just like Instagram spotted an opening with Reels when the TikTok ban was announced in the US. Indian developers tried to grab the TikTok moment with indigenous apps, but Reels rained over their party and sealed their fate once and for all.

PUBG Mobile craze gets replaced by FAU-G

But nobody could bridge the PUBG Mobile gap quickly because making a game isn’t child’s play. However, Indian studio nCore Games has bigger ambitions and announced it’ll be launching a PUBG Mobile alternative called FAU-G (Fearless and United Guards) soon. In Hindi (one of India’s official languages), fawji literally means a solider, and the developer smartly ripped off the name from PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and added a nationalist twist to it.

FAU-G was supposed to launch in November but got delayed to December and then January. Finally, the developers chose the auspicious day of January 26 for launch, a national holiday because it celebrates its 75th Republic Day. The game had more than four million pre-registrations, Bollywood celebrities like Akshay Kumar endorse the game, and it was supposed to land a mighty punch to our violent neighbor, a message that we don’t need them.

The game has finally arrived, and I’ve played for an hour. Yup, I’m writing an in-depth review based on one hour of experience. Hold on, though, don’t judge me yet!

Gameplay

The game is straightforward. It only has a single-player story mode right now, and there are no guns, grenades, or vehicles. According to the campaign mode, you’re a soldier in the Galwan Valley, where Ind0-China clashes took place in 2020. You’re separated from your unit and are supposed to make your way through enemy camps and find your comrades.

This is where it gets more interesting because you’re expected to fight just with fists or a melee weapon. As soon as you’re near an enemy, just keep smashing the hit button, and you’ll be fine. There’s no strategy or aim required to win because the game’s difficulty level is close to zero. AI bots just stand close to you and wait for you to crush them like flies.

The soldier needs to rest near a fireplace to warm up every minute or so. Galwan Valley is one of the harshest battlefields globally due to altitude and ultracold climate, so they incorporated this challenge as a gameplay feature. It’ll help you regenerate your health.

The melee weapon is currently restricted to a wooden club that has nails attached to it. Similar stop-gap weapons were used in the real Indo-China clashes because the two countries want to avoid an escalation and restrict their armies from firing live bullets. To make things as realistic as possible, the developers decided to start with a melee weapon.

A lot of bugs are yet to be squashed, and FAU-G stopped responding a couple of times. The graphics are underwhelming, and the map is too small. You’ll most probably never open it more than once.

But, how does it fill PUBG’s void?

Well, it doesn’t. The game was clearly conceptualized to cash on the immediate PUBG: Mobile ban. They announced the game first and then thought of brainstorming how they’ll accomplish a PUBG killer. Right now, the game only has a single-player mode that’s called “Tales from the Galwan Valley.” The game mentions a 5×5 team deathmatch mode and free for all (possibly the battle royale), but they’re not available as of now.

Thankfully, the developers thought of earning some revenue from the game and added a store. It has skins for the character and melee weapons, and they can be bought using gold or silver coins. The gold coins have to be purchased, while the silver coins are earned as you progress in the game. There’s also an “Honour Road” battle pass that’ll let you make some free in-game cosmetic goodies.

As it stands, the game is far from being called a game as it lacks minimum gameplay. nCore Games says it’ll be releasing more features, maps, weapons, and game-modes in the future, obviously. But it’s safe to assume that the game failed to capitalize the PUBG Mobile vacuum.

Nobody expected FAU-G to be as perfect as the incumbents, but we did expect a slightly enjoyable game that can challenge international studios. In turn, we’ve received a hyper-national interactive video that gives little joy and maximum cringe.

Even if the developer adds a ton of features in the next few weeks, the initial damage is done. The game has a rating of just 3.0 out of 5.0 on the Google Play Store, and it isn’t available for iOS yet. The launch euphoria is now gone, and users realize there’s no use in wasting storage after a game that barely works.

What does the future hold?

FAU-G isn’t the first Indian alternative to disappoint. As soon as the TikTok ban was announced, many local developers tried to seize the moment by creating clones. But none of them are close to bridging the gap, and Instagram Reels has successfully taken over the mantle.

A prime reason behind their failure is their vision. Their goal is to become India’s PUBG Mobile or TikTok, and in the process, forget those giants are successful because they’re unique. They offer something nobody does, and that’s their forte.

Many Indian start-ups like Razorpay, Ather, Cred, Instamojo, and Khatabook are successful because they focus on the product, the idea, and its vast applications. These companies don’t need a marketing campaign around “being Indian” to attract users.

nCore Games still has a lot of time and should focus on the game as a product, not a PR campaign. We don’t need dialogues that indirectly suggest what’s happening in the game is a real depiction of what happened at Galwan Valley.

When I’m shooting at someone in a game, they’re just another player for me and not a Chinese soldier trying to cross the Indian border. And this is a thin line we must maintain. Younger generations should understand the real harshness and consequences of war. A game is a simulation, and we’re turning it into a toxic dose of unimaginative propaganda.

The bad news for nCore Games is that PUBG Mobile could return to India after severing distribution ties with Tencent. FAU-G can survive if it ramps up development and releases features soon, or PUBG Mobile never makes a comeback.