The PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds test server was open for the 3rd time on December 8th. There have been many changes to the game including server optimization, gameplay, sounds, and in-game animation, but the change that received the most attention was the new map, Miramar.

The opening time for the test server was postponed from 5PM to 7PM (KST) at the first instance, and many players gathered to play with excitement for an adventure in the new map of wasteland, Miramar, and I was one of them.

■ Miramar, the wasteland with an endless desert

● My first encounter with Miramar

The new map, Miramar, had a completely different vibe from that of Erangel. Unlike Enrangel, Miramar was made up of mostly desert, with ruined buildings scattered about, giving off the forlorn and forsaken vibe of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Additionally, there was much less water here than in Erangel, with no water at all in-land, making the map feel more arid and barren.

Moreover, Miramar does not have a separate island that players start at before moving on the plane like Erangel does; instead, the players start in a small, confined area like the Prison, which adds more tension even before the actual game started.

● Los Leones, the big city with strange buildings

After the actual game started, the first place I visited was Los Leones, the biggest city in this map. It was almost as big as Yasnaya Polyana in Erangel, with various buildings such as factories and apartments.

Most of the buildings were completely different from those of Erangel, and it was hard to find the entrance at first, and not knowing the basic building structure made item looting difficult.

● Special new weapons added for the desert map - Winchester Model 1894 & Sawed-off

It wasn’t hard to find the Winchester and Sawed-off, the two new weapons specially added for this map, as I moved around the map; they seemed to be quite easy to discover.

These two weapons were somewhat similar, but felt strange. As for the Winchester Model 1894, it was similar to the Kar98K when opening fire, but felt much lighter and could hold 8 shots. It did take some time to reload because each bullet is added one at a time. Also, since it is a lever action gun, there’s a bit more time between shots.

No attachments, including scopes, could be added to it, making it inappropriate for long-range shots. It was better for mid-ranged shooting, though it seems like it would require much practice to use it well.

As for Sawed-off, I thought it would be better to call it a ‘Double-barreled Shotgun’ that could be equipped in the handgun slot. The way it used 12 gauge ammo and reloaded 2 rounds at once, and can fire 2 quick shots was very similar to Double-barreled Shotguns.

● The movie-like scene and interesting vehicles in Miramar

The desert scenes in Miramar felt very spectacular, as if I was in a movie. Dry plants growing here and there, and the overall colour scheme of the land was very impressive. Furthermore, the cabins located found around the map were designed to go along with the whole vibe of the place, which felt very refreshing to me.

There was vegetation in some areas of the map, but very little overall; this would keep players who liked to play by crawling in the grass in Erangel from playing the same way here.

The pickup truck, a new vehicle added especially for the map, is an off-road vehicle that can run through the rough desert landscape without any trouble, and allows players to ride in the back of the truck. This vehicle replaces the UAZ, which doesn’t spawn in the desert map.

I also came across motorcycles with sidecars, which were re-designed to go along with Miramar, which I found quite charming.

● Overall, Miramar was...

My first overall impression of Miramar after playing for a short time was very satisfying. Although my eyes did hurt a bit due to the colour scheme and lighting, this may be different for everyone and it won’t be much of a problem once you get used to it.

Since it was completely different from Erangel, it felt as if I was playing a different game. PUBG did a great job of making the forsaken desert vibe real, and many changes to the gameplay itself are expected to be made since the whole landscape is totally different from the older map. Apart from that, the weapons and vehicle exclusive to this map were another element that of Miramar that I found attractive.

Even though Miramar wasn’t perfect due to being a test server, there is still some time left until its official release on December 20th, so players can look forward to a better, improved version of Miramar.