After months of anticipation, PUBG Mobile competitor FAU-G is finally here. FAU-G has launched in India today on the occasion of the 72nd Republic Day. It is a third-person brawler game, unlike your favorite battle royale title that’s now banned in the country. The game is now available for download and after playing it for about an hour, here are some key details and my first impression of FAU-G.
FAU-G Launched in India
For those still unaware, FAU-G stands for The Fearless and United Guards. The game has been set in Galwan Valley and based on the skirmish between Indian and Chinese forces at the border. This dispute resulted in 20 Indian soldiers being martyred. This game takes inspiration from this event to build a fictional story about a group of FAU-G and how they help protect our motherland in this story-driven game.
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How to Download FAU-G and Supported Devices?
FAU-G had garnered more than 4 million pre-registrations on Android ahead of the official launch. And now, it finally went live on Android about an hour ago. It is a free-to-play game that is supported on Android devices running Android 8.0 Oreo and above. If you own a compatible Android device, you can download FAU-G from the Play Store link right here.
While it was previously rumored that the iOS version of the game will arrive alongside the Android version today, it is yet to go live. We will update you once FAU-G becomes available to play on iOS devices.
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What is FAU-G Download Size?
The download size of FAU-G will vary depending on your device, but it was around 460MB on my OnePlus Nord running Android 11-based OxygenOS 11 open beta. The install size of the game is around 600MB, which is way less when compared to PUBG Mobile or COD Mobile.
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Does FAU-G Have a Battle Royale Mode Like PUBG Mobile?
No, FAU-G currently does not have a battle royale mode. It is a story-driven game that offers you an hour and a half-long campaign where you see the protagonist fistfight the enemies to rescue his compatriots.
As you can see in the screenshots below, the game mode screen currently only has the ‘Campaign’ mode card accessible to users. The developer plans to enable co-op play, and add Team Deathmatch and Free for All modes in the coming weeks. They are marked as ‘Coming Soon’ right now and not clickable.
There is no mention of a battle royale mode as of now, but the developer confirmed in a recent interview that it will come in the future. Battle Royale is a future endeavor and it will arrive with a new map. You won’t fight other real players in Galwan Valley but in a very different setting – possibly like PUBG Mobile.
FAU-G First Impressions
Prior to the launch of the game, FAU-G developer nCore Games had already urged the netizens to keep their expectations in check. In an interview with IGN India, the game developer stated “Compare us to the first release of any other game and not the final release. Don’t compare us to the 870th update of Call of Duty. We’ve just got started.”
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Graphics and Gameplay
Well, this is exactly what I had in mind when I download and started playing the game. To my surprise, the graphics of FAU-G were better than what I had imagined the game to look like from the teaser trailer. The game starts off with a cut-scene detailing how hidden enemy forces took your comrades hostage. You are on a mission to rescue them and have to fistfight (or use makeshift weapons such as clubs and pipes) enemies along the way.
You do not jump into the fight with a weapon of your own. FAU-G starts fighting with his fists (and kicks) and needs to take down enemies with these makeshift weapons to grab and use them. You can hold two weapons at a time and each weapon has a durability meter, which you will see run out really quickly. Most of the combat will happen with fists and replenishing your health is very important after each fight.
You have a green health bar at the top left, which can simply be replenished by sitting around the bonfire that you find at checkpoints. Gamers can try to save their health by blocking enemies when they are about to attack You will see them glow in red before they attack. You can attack first or block.
The gameplay mechanics are as simple as they sound. FAU-G might look appealing at first but the repetitive gameplay will make you want to go back to COD Mobile within minutes. It does not have the storyline or combat mechanics to hold your attention.
And well, what’s worse is that all of the hype drowns away after just one and a half hour. There’s nothing much to do in the game after you’ve completed the Galwan Valley campaign. You can check out my FAU-G gameplay right here:
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Cosmetics and Battle Pass
As confirmed previously, FAU-G also has a battle pass system and it is called the Honor Road. It will award you silver coins and skins for your weapons. You can use the silver coins to unlock more weapon and FAU-G commando skins from the store.
While the weapon skins start at 2000 coins and range up to 4000 coins, the FAU-G commando skins will require you to collect at least 9000 silver coins. You can also buy tokens to unlock even more skins in-game. You get 30 tokens for Rs. 19 and 4800 tokens for a whopping Rs. 2,999. FAU-G vows to donate 20% of the token proceeds to Bharat Ke Veer initiative, which is great.
In addition, FAU-G has arrived with support for three languages – English, Hindi, and Tamil. The developer has confirmed to BGR India that the game will gain support for more languages including Telegu, Malayalam, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, and Bengali down the road.
Should You Try Out FAU-G in India?
Well, if you have pre-registered and were eager to check out this much-awaited PUBG Mobile alternative in India, then sure, go ahead and play FAU-G right now. You should give it a try if you want a Bollywood-esque story, patriotic Hindi dialogues at the most random times, and don’t want to miss out on the hype. But, you are not missing out on anything truly amazing if you don’t play FAU-G at launch. You may wait for the game to develop further, introduce new modes, and other combat styles to see its complete potential.
