For a game that was
long in development as a cooperative horde-based shooter, the conspicuous and
relatively quick addition of battle royale to Fortnite seemed to be a move to capitalize
on a trend. However, its seemingly simple building system and loose shooting
mechanics not only set it apart from other games built on the same premise, but
work extremely well to make a uniquely chaotic and surprisingly deep deathmatch
experience.
Everything about
Fortnite’s presentation emits a lighthearted tone. You start a match by jumping
out of a party bus held up by balloons that flies across the game’s massive
map. Weapons, ammo, and health items litter its silly-named cities, all using
alliteration–Tomato Town, Moisty Mire, Tilted Towers, to name a few. Even
enemies don’t really die; they’re teleported away after getting knocked out.
Valuable loot is found inside pinatas called supply llamas, for crying out
loud. Players throw up basic structures formed out of thin air and firearmsbrightly express their trajectory. But don’t let that first impression fool
you; the further you get into a match, the more you see how Fortnite’s gameplay
elements have to be used in clever and complex ways to emerge victorious.
Unique to Fortnite is
a streamlined building system comprised of four components: walls, ramps,
floors, and roofs. These are constructed with three different types of
materials that you either mine with a pickaxe or scavenge across the map; wood,
stone, and metal each have their own properties in terms of durability and
build speed. You can further modify structures to have windows and doors. It
seems convoluted, but thanks to snappy grid-based layouts and the intuitive
control scheme, getting the hang of building isn’t much of a hurdle.
At first glance, it’s
as if Fortnite’s original Save The World mode had its mechanics haphazardly
dropped into the 100-player last-person-standing premise. But this is the
foundation that makes for a myriad of tactical possibilities, like creating a
sky-high staircase to climb a mountain to get the higher ground or swiftly
fabricating your own cover as you run across an open field to close in on
opponents. Literally, bridging the gap between mountains can turn long-range
shootouts into close-quarters brawls. Fortnite’s dynamic building system always
gives you the opportunity to improvise, even when you think your back is
against the wall.
For example, players
will often shield themselves with structures that act as makeshift bunkers. To
undercut that, you could put the pressure on them by constructing your own set
of ramps leading into their territory to force a fair fight and eliminate an
otherwise well-protected enemy. In these moments, the intrinsically rewarding
nature of Fortnite shines through. Conflict isn’t just about landing a precise
shot or spotting the enemy first; quick wit and improvisation with the given
toolset put you in a position to create your own path to success. Eliminations
and victories feel very much earned, especially because the late-game often
consists of which player or squad has the best architectural acumen in the
ever-changing safe zones.
While construction is
imperative for victory, so is destruction. Every object in the world of
Fortnite can be destroyed. Even as players create their own formidable defense,
no one is ever safe for long in battle. A well-placed rocket or remote
explosive can quickly dismantle a large, complex fort; if a multi-story tower
doesn’t have a strong foundation, blasting it from underneath will bring those
up high back down to earth. Even a subtle tactic like breaking down a single
wall and throwing up a ramp to infiltrate in an imposing fort can prove just as
effective.
Approaches to combat
also rely on the weapons you scavenge. A typical arsenal made up of rifles,
submachine guns, shotguns, and pistols have colored tiers to indicate varying
levels of power and rarity. Each gun has a sensible use-case, however, traps
and explosives mix things up a bit. This is another aspect in which Fortnite
diverges from many other battle royale games; shooting is fast and loose, akin
to an arena shooter. Mid-range firefights and close-quarters combat feel more
like a fatal dance in and around the structures plopped into the environment.
Bunnyhopping with a tactical shotgun is common at close range and spraying
assault rifles is standard operation. Fortnite isn’t a tactical shooter in the
traditional sense, but offers its own bevy of strategic options to keep players
on their toes.
Enemy engagement still
carries the risk you expect from games of this ilk by nature of having one life
per match and the relatively quick time-to-kill. Even after downing a Chug Jug
for full health and shield, well-placed shots from a legendary or epic weapon
will make short work of anyone. However, the brisk pace at which matches move
trades unnerving tension for a higher frequency of action. Yet, as with any
battle royale game, looting for resources sits at the core of matches and eats
up much of your time. The system in place for loot and resource gathering isefficient, but it grows tiresome after consecutive matches as swinging the
pickaxe at trees and houses for necessary materials grows increasingly
repetitive.
Another area in which
Fortnite is a bit thin is in its map design, a shortcoming that’s twofold. The
sprawling lone map features a variety of cute, thematic areas: Its metropolis
of Tilted Towers
and suburbs of Pleasant
Park contrast the swamps
of Moisty Mire and the countryside of Anarchy Acres. Regardless, there’s afeeling many of the map’s landmarks lack sophistication in physical layouts and
density in loot placement. To its credit, the map’s verticality brings the best
out in your construction abilities, but city centers like Tomato Town
have little to work with when two squads land in the area. A slightly more
intricate town like Snobby
Shores is sometimes
devoid of useful items. It’d be easier to overlook this if you didn’t have to
trek across to a nearby town on foot that’s likely to have been looted, but
such is the case.
In just about half a
year, Epic has demonstrated strong support with a consistent rollout of new
content. Those who have been playing the game are aware of the limited-time
modes that put a slight twist on the standard mode. Snipers-only or
explosives-only matches have added a neat touch, but past modes like 50v50 or
Teams of 20 do much more to change Fortnite’s pace and open up new ways to play
the game. If that’s any indication, Fortnite could have plenty more to offer as
it evolves further.
This is a free-to-play
game, so you should be aware that it sustains itself through microtransactions.
A $10 Battle Pass opens a slew of skins to earn andprovides new goals to work towards. It’s a reasonable system in that these
objectives reward you with cosmetic items that visibly pop within Fortnite’sbright art style. There’s nothing to infringe on how the game plays,
thankfully. If you wish to engage in making your pickaxe to look like a toy,
don seasonal outfits, or get the latest viral dance as an emote, you either put
in the time to earn it or shell out money for the game’s V-Bucks.
While there are
several moving parts in the game’s ecosystem, Fortnite’s biggest accomplishment
is in how it seamlessly merges a number of simple mechanics to create a
distinguishable battle royale game. What looks to be a straightforward building
system steadily escalates to an elaborate display of tactical prowess. As the
saying goes: It’s easy to learn, hard to master. Although a few shortcomings in
the map design eventually surface and fatigue in looting can set in, Fortnite
rarely fails at challenging you in unexpected ways, resulting in something more
than just another typical last-person-standing shooter.
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