Blast Buddies — Play Free Online

Blast Buddies is a cartoon-style multiplayer first-person shooter that runs in the browser. The loading screen sums it up as "Team up and blast away!": you pick a loadout, drop into a short match on one of eleven built-in maps, and play against real people on EU, North American or Asian servers. It is a lighter, faster companion to the Bullet Force demo on this site: rounds are short, respawns take a few seconds, and movement abilities such as dash and grapple matter as much as aim.

Game modes

The scoreboard in the game lists eight ways to play:

• Team Deathmatch: Blue against Red. The first team to the target number of eliminations wins.
• Free For All: every player for themselves; first to the elimination target wins.
• 1 VS 1: a duel queue from the hub, first to the score limit. You can also take a party into it.
• Gun Game: your weapon changes after each elimination. Get an elimination with every weapon in the list to win.
• Hardpoint: one zone (the "hill") is active at a time and then moves. Stand in it to earn points; first team to the limit wins.
• Conquest: capture and hold several points at once.
• Elimination: round based, first to the set number of round wins.
• Custom games: create a lobby for up to 10 players, share the lobby link with friends and start when ready.

Controls

• WASD / arrow keys: move (ZQSD also works on AZERTY keyboards).
• Mouse: look and aim. Left click: fire. Right click (hold) or E (toggle): aim down sights.
• Space: jump. C: slide. R: reload.
• Shift or 3: use your ability. 4: throw your grenade.
• 1 / 2 or the mouse wheel: switch between primary and secondary weapon.
• Tab: hold to see the scoreboard. Enter: open chat.
• Click inside the game to lock the pointer; Escape gives it back and opens the pause menu, where you can change weapons and look sensitivity.

Settings also include aim assist, a minimap and plain skin options.

Playing on a phone or tablet

Blast Buddies runs in the mobile browser, so there is nothing to install. We ran it in an emulated Pixel 7, and it reached a live Team Deathmatch match by touch alone, held upright or sideways. Sideways leaves more room around the buttons. We have not timed it on a real handset, so frame rate on an older phone may differ.

• Left joystick: move.
• Right side of the screen: drag to look around.
• Red bullet button: fire. The crosshair button above it aims down sights.
• Up and down arrows: jump and slide. The circular arrow reloads.
• Bottom bar: your weapons, ability and grenade.
• Top right: chat, scoreboard and pause.

Tap PLAY in the hub, pick your loadout and you join a match. A new player has Assault, Burst, Shotgun and SMG ready; LMG, Sniper, Spectre, Tommy and Bow carry a Watch tag, which unlocks them with a video.

Weapons, abilities and maps

Before each match you choose a weapon, an ability, a grenade and a utility. The arsenal has 15 guns (Assault, Burst, Shotgun, SMG, LMG, Sniper, Pistol, Revolver, Ray Gun, Energy, Spectre, Tommy, Flare, Snare and Bow) and four melee weapons (Knife, Sword, Hammer, Axe). The eight abilities are Dash, Grapple, Shield, Decoy, Pulse, Slam, Cloak and Chrono Orb. Built-in maps include Arena, Prototype, Shipment, Outpost, Nukeville, Canyon, Blocktown, Favela, Pyramids, Sunny Town and Rooftops, and players can vote for the next map on the results screen.

Playing matches earns XP and coins. Levelling up unlocks new weapons and abilities, coins buy skins, and skins come in rarities such as Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Mythic and Exotic. There are also challenges (get a set number of eliminations or headshots, win matches, build a custom map), a Battle Pass, a leaderboard and ranked seasons.

Tips from the game itself

• Aim for the head: headshots deal extra damage.
• Mind the range: most guns lose damage at distance; Shotgun and SMG hit hardest up close, so switch to the Sniper or LMG when fights happen at long range.
• Dash has two charges: use them to dodge fire or close the gap on a wounded enemy.
• Grapple for height: hook onto walls and rooftops to reach high ground quickly.
• Shield in the open: if you are caught without cover, a Shield bubble blocks bullets. Pulse reveals nearby enemies through walls.
• Play with friends: use Share Party Link in the menu so friends join your party directly.

Map editor

Blast Buddies has a built-in map creator. You place blocks (grass, stone, sand, snow, concrete and more) and prefabs such as towers, bunkers, bridges, sniper nests and trees, set Team 1 and Team 2 spawns, then save and play. Other players' maps appear under Custom Maps, sorted by Playing, Popular, Trending or Random. You need to leave your party before opening the editor.

Similar games on Bullet Force

For more browser shooters, try Bullet Force itself for a slower military feel, Combat Reloaded for classic team deathmatch, Masked Forces for weapon customisation, or Blockpost for blocky tactical gunplay.