What if, for once, we weren’t playing but were watching in real time through the camera of a mission operator? That’s exactly the feeling Bodycam aims to convey. From the very first trailers, the title drew attention especially for its technical aspect, thanks to the use of Unreal Engine 5 and a visual style that faithfully recreates that of a real bodycam. In certain situations, it’s surprisingly hard to remember you’re in front of a video game.
Behind this extremely realistic graphics, we have a multiplayer shooter in which every bullet counts and where knowing when to make the right choice can make the difference between life and death.
So the question is inevitable: is Bodycam merely visually appealing or is it also a good FPS?
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Bang and clear!
For those unfamiliar with it, Bodycam is a multiplayer first-person shooter built around a very simple idea: make every encounter as realistic and immersive as possible. Developed by two young French developers, who founded Reissad Studio respectively at 17 and 20 years old, the game is available in Early Access on Steam from Early Access Steam Steam June 7, 2024. Don't expect a Call of Duty or Battlefield experience. The pace is much slower and deliberate, encounters can last only a few seconds, and a single mistake can cost your life.
The available modes include the classics Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Body Bomb, Hardpoint, Gun Game and Wingman, plus a new Zombies mode. But it’s the visuals that truly set the game apart.
The camera moves with the character and the image doesn't stay steady like in traditional FPS games. During movement and especially during combat, the result can become chaotic, but it's precisely this imperfection that makes the experience so distinctive. chaotic, but it's precisely this imperfection that makes the experience so distinctive. There's also no traditional HUD, and by default, there's no classic crosshair at the centre of the screen. The player must therefore move carefully, study the environment, communicate with their team and, most importantly, locate and eliminate the opponent before they do the same.
It's a gameplay that rewards caution and can generate moments of high tension and can generate moments of high tension.
Eyes on target
In a shooter, the way weapons are used matters a great deal, and even in this regard, Bodycam has its own identity. Weapons convey a heavy sense heavy and the combat is extremely violentThere’s no that typical feeling in many shooters where we can run, jump, and keep firing with almost no consequences. Here, everything has consequences. consequences.
You’ll need to explore rooms, moving through open spaces to figure out where enemy fire might come from, and when you engage an opponent, there’s often no time to correct a mistake. This makes every encounter particularly tense. The possibility of being eliminated in a few seconds also makes you play much more cautiously than usual. It doesn’t necessarily mean every match is slow: when two players meet, action can become extremely fast. It’s simply a game that forces you to think before acting — as is proper in real life!
Welcome to reality
When I first saw a Bodycam gameplay, I was left speechless. Personally, I believe it's, to put it mildly, one of the most realistic FPS I've ever seen.
Lighting, materials and environments manage to create scenarios that, in certain situations, can be mistaken for reality. The camera further helps to eliminate that sense of 'perfection' normally associated with video game graphics. Especially in dim, enclosed spaces, it feels as though you're witnessing the SWAT team's actual intrusion.
The downside is that all this comes at a performance cost. Bodycam is a fairly heavy game and requires adequate hardware to be enjoyed to the fullest. But we’ll come back to this later.
Sound off - Can you hear me?
In a game where enemies can be hard to spot visually, audio becomes essential. Footsteps, gunfire, reloading sounds and ambient noises provide valuable clues about other players' positions. Learning to listen to what's happening around us thus becomes almost as important as being able to observe.
The surrender mechanic contributes enormously to immersion. Shooting allows you to perceive it realistically the power of the shot and, after a close-quarters fight, the operator can even temporarily lose their hearing. It’s not just an aesthetic mechanic. For a few seconds, we can indeed lose some of the essential auditory cues needed to understand what’s happening around us. In a fight, it can be enough to completely undermine our sense of the situation.
By the way, have you ever tried firing a firearm? The result is roughly the same.
Know your surroundings
With a gameplay so focused on tactics, map design completely changes how you approach a match. Tighter environments favour close-quarters and spontaneous confrontations, while open areas allow for ranged engagements and require greater awareness of surrounding spaces.
This variety is important because it allows for different rhythms in every situation and forces the player to adapt to the environment. different rhythms and forces the player to adapt to the environment. The real weakness, as happens in many multiplayer FPS, is longevity. After the initial "wow" effect triggered by graphics and realism, a multiplayer game must offer enough content and variety to convince players to return even after dozens of hours.
Stay low, stay alive
One of the most interesting features of Bodycam is also one of its greatest contradictions. Many of the choices that enhance realism make the game less "convenient". The camera bobbing and reading certain situations the fighting speed and the possibility that an enemy perfectly blends in with the environment can become frustrating. But I don't see them as flaws. They are a direct consequence of the game's philosophy.
Bodycam wants to make us feel vulnerable. It wants a dark corridor to make us hesitate before crossing it, and crossing a street to imply a 50% chance of not even reaching cover. The problem arises when realism stops being immersive and becomes simply uncomfortable. It’s a delicate balance and probably represents one of the most important challenges for Reissad Studio.Bodycam wants to make us feel vulnerable. It wants a dark corridor to make us hesitate before crossing it, and crossing a street to imply a 50% chance of not even reaching cover. The problem arises when realism stops being immersive and becomes simply uncomfortable. It’s a delicate balance and probably represents one of the most important challenges for Reissad Studio.
Locked & Loaded
Here we are at the big update of 2 September, version 0.8. 0.8. Reissad Studio has called it the biggest update ever made for the game, and it's not just about a new map accompanied by some weapons. The team has, in fact, worked on various animation, audio, and physics systems, improving the foundations on which the experience is built. The update arrived after the postponement of the one originally scheduled for spring: the developers chose to pause and rebuild some systems that could have presented a bottleneck for the project’s future.
One of the most interesting changes relates to the character’s behaviour under stress. .Previously, animations were essentially the same every time. Now, the game takes into account an emotional value determined by factors such as gunfire, explosions, time since the last contact, and the player’s posture. The result is a system that can choose among a range of behaviours, including some in which the operator makes mistakes. It’s a new mechanic, and personally, I find it fantastic!
To this, we add the new procedural animations, which ensure the weapon never occupies exactly the same pixels on screen. procedural animations, which ensures the weapon never occupies exactly the same pixels on screen. It may seem like an insignificant detail, but in a game built around realism, these small variations contribute to making the experience more believable. plausibleAnd above all, it changes the way you approach a high-pressure situation: going into debt to reload now could cost a lot.
Another important addition is the new loadout system. loadoutBefore the match, we can build our gear by selecting primary and secondary weapons, melee weapons, explosives and gadgets. Hundreds of accessories are available, unlockable through Reissad Points earned by playing.
It's not just about cosmetic changes: attachments can affect recoil, weapon capacity, and optic behaviour. All of this is managed through the new Tactical Tablet, an integrated menu directly within the game world.
The new map in the update is Trenches, a much broader and more open setting than some of the scenarios already present in the game. The map includes trenches, a ruined church, underground tunnels and large open fields, all accompanied by a dynamic weather system. This allows for alternating extremely close-quarters combat inside the trenches with longer-range engagements in the open areas. The update also introduces the game’s first bolt-action rifle, fitting naturally into longer-range fights.
The update also introduces two new gadgets: FPV drones and RC cars. FPV drones and RC cars. Drones can be flown in stabilized mode or manual mode, known as Acro, which offers more free control and a more realistic flight physics. The result is a surprisingly realistic flight system, to the point that some enthusiasts and real FPV drone owners use Bodycam to familiarise themselves with the controls and practice manual flying. It's a very interesting detail that highlights the attention given to simulation: what begins as a simple gadget within a shooter can, in certain respects, come close to being a real simulator. simulator.
RC cars can instead carry an explosive payload and reach areas a drone would be unable to access. Their use is primarily designed to gather information and monitor the environment, rather than directly replacing the first engagement. They therefore add a new tactical layer to the match, especially when used effectively as a team.
The audio has also been completely revamped. The new system introduces a more organic reverb, allowing environments to respond to gunfire differently. Footsteps also change depending on the surface we move across, and explosions propagate through the environment in a more realistic way. As a result, attentive headphones and ears matter more than ever. reverb more organic, allowing environments to respond to gunfire differently. Footsteps also change depending on the surface we move across, and explosions propagate through the environment in a more realistic way. As a result, attentive headphones and ears matter more than ever.
Another interesting mention concerns the shop. With the UI overhaul, the store has been temporarily disabled. Reissad Studio has also reaffirmed that the update contains no real-money purchases and that the shop should be seen as an addition, not the project's priority. It's clearly a positive choice, though it’s fair to note that this is a current situation, not a guarantee for the game's future. What emerges from the update is the message Reissad Studio wants to send: Bodycam doesn’t want to remain the game famed for its graphics. Instead, it’s aiming to become a fully fledged FPS.
With the arrival of version 0.8, it represents certainly one of the most important steps taken so far in this direction.
Status report
We finally arrive at one of the most delicate aspects: optimisation.Optimisation. The game is demanding and performance has historically been one of its most debated points. From the earliest stages of Early Access, lag, glitches and performance dips have been among the most common criticisms. For this reason, the work done by the developers on this front is particularly important. Among the fixes we find new graphics presets and resolution scaling systems, along with support for DLSS, FSR and XeSS, including Frame Generation.Early AccessFrom the earliest stages of Early Access, lag, glitches and performance dips have been among the most common criticisms. For this reason, the work done by the developers on this front is particularly important. Among the fixes we find new graphics presets and resolution scaling systems, along with support for DLSS, FSR and XeSS, including Frame Generation. Also addressed were issues such as FPS drops during longer sessions, alongside improvements to host migration, matchmaking, voice chat and crash reporting.Also addressed were issues such as FPS drops during longer sessions, alongside improvements to host migration, matchmaking, voice chat and crash reporting.
Subsequent patches have continued to work on these aspects, with further tweaks to controls, player management, and the party system. Still, one certainty remains: a game of this level of detail will always require a suitable PC, and those without appropriate hardware will inevitably have to compromise. PC adeguato, e chi non dispone di un hardware all’altezza dovrà inevitabilmente scendere a compromessi.
Over and out
In conclusion, Bodycam is a unique game… It’s not the perfect FPS, and there doesn’t seem to be any intention to be so. Its strength lies not in the quantity of content, but in its ability to create an experience different from that offered by most shooters on the market. Graphics are its signature, but focusing solely on them would be reductive. When a match works, Bodycam succeeds in generating incredible tension: a sound behind a door, a silhouette glimpsed, or a sudden gunshot can turn an apparently calm situation into a confrontation in seconds. There remain, however, some limitations. Realism can become uncomfortable, content is still inferior to that of a mature multiplayer FPS, and anyone seeking an extremely structured competitive experience will still find some shortcomings. But one must also remember that Bodycam is still in Early Access. The latest update, however, is a significant signal, demonstrating the intention to build something beautiful and complete. The young Reissad Studio has a long road ahead, but the impression is that the project is still moving in the right direction. If you’re looking for a fast, immediate shooter, Bodycam may not be the best choice — but if you’re seeking a slower, tense, and above all immersive experience, then it’s definitely worth trying. I genuinely believe in this title and hope, with time, it finds its niche in a market already saturated with FPS titles all too similar to each other. Because, in a genre that seems to fear innovation, Bodycam has the merit of attempting a different path. Early AccessThe latest update nonetheless signals a key milestone, showing the intent to build something beautiful and complete. The young Reissad Studio still has a long way to go, but the impression is that the project is continuing to move in the right direction. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, immediate shooter, Bodycam might not be your best choice — but if you want a slower, tense, and above all immersive experience, it’s definitely worth trying. I genuinely believe in this title and hope, over time, it finds its niche in a market now saturated with FPS games that are all too similar to one another. Because, in a genre that seems afraid of innovation, Bodycam deserves credit for attempting to chart a different path.
Why, in the end, is this its strength: it doesn't want to show us a virtual reality, it wants to convince us we're watching it through a real camera.
And when it succeeds, it’s hard not to be impressed.
~ Over and out
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