Apex Legends can't help but sometimes live in the shadow of its older sibling, Titanfall 2—with many fans of that classic game finding themselves unable to transition to the different pace and gameplay style of Apex. However, Apex Legends is always finding new ways to pay homage to its beloved predecessor.
The continued success of Apex has been something of a thorn in the side of Titanfall 2 fans. Many believe that its recurring live service revenues have inhibited the chance of any Titanfall sequel, especially considering the cancelation of an Apex Legends single-player spinoff. Despite carrying much of Titanfall 2's core shooter gameplay, it has a much slower time-to-kill to facilitate battle royale gameplay. It also lacks any Titan gameplay—a dealbreaker for many franchise veterans.
Why One Apex Legends Character May Have Been Overtuned With a Buff
Respawn Entertainment has granted some Apex Legends characters ability improvements, and one in particular has turned the game on its head.
Apex Legends' Titanfall 2 References Explained
On the other hand, Apex is still firmly grounded in the Titanfall continuity, and Respawn keeps the game's memory alive. Even if Titanfall 3 is unlikely, and even if some fans can never reconcile with where the franchise is gone, the memory of those very different predecessor games lives on through the lore and mechanics of Apex. Not only are many Legends tied to the Titanfall canon, but almost all of the game's weapon arsenal is lifted from Titanfall 2.
Legend Backstories And Kuben Blisk
Kuben Blisk, one of the central antagonists in Titanfall 2, is a key character in the lore of Apex Legends, having personally invited much of the cast to the games. Blisk taking on part of the initiative to revive the Apex Games has brought a key element of the Titanfall series into Apex, especially considering that the games share a name with Blisk's Apex Predator group. In addition to Blisk, Ash, another member of the Apex Predators who was seemingly killed off in Titanfall 2, turned back up in Apex Legends. Originally, Ash was an announcer for Apex's discontinued Arenas mode but became a playable Legend in Season 11.
Many Apex characters have ties to Titanfall in their backstory, with an important example being Valkyrie. Valkyrie is the daughter of Viper, a particularly tricky boss from Titanfall 2. In-game, many of her skins carry Viper's motifs, and she can be heard quoting Viper's "I own the skies" catchphrase—not to mention her flight abilities, which pay homage to Viper's flying Titan. Conduit is a similar case, with her abilities deriving from her interaction with a Titan battery, though the battery radiation is slowly killing her.
Legend Abilities And Weapons That Reference Titanfall
While no Legend has a full Titan form, many do have abilities referencing Titan abilities and pilot abilities. Examples of this in the world of Apex Legends include Pathfinder's grapple, Octane's stim, Caustic's gas, Wattson's fences, and Valkyrie's flight. Ash's kit, naturally, derives greatly from what she had in Titanfall 2. In particular, her Ult is one-to-one with her Titan's main ability, even using a similar sword.
This is without mentioning the degree to which Apex Legends' guns are taken from Titanfall 2; almost all the weapons in Apex Legends are either lifted directly from Titanfall or share a design and functionality—albeit with a slightly different upgrade to signal a model change. Not every weapon in Apex is from Titanfall 2, with guns like the 30-30 being original arms, but the overriding majority share a lineage. This went further in the current season with the addition of Titanfall 2's EPG. The EPG in Titanfall 2 is largely used as an anti-Titan weapon, similar to the Charge Rifle. However, the EPG still does incredible damage to other players, whereas the Charge Rifle is far weaker when compared to its classic incarnation.
Apex Legends
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 74%
- Released
- February 4, 2019
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Respawn Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Source on console/PC, Unreal Engine 4 on mobile
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, PS4, Switch & Xbox One
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, iOS, Android, Switch
- Genre(s)
- Battle Royale, First-Person Shooter
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
