Fortnite Ballistic is planting the seeds to bring in a new kind of player

Fortnite no more just now the culture-defining battle royale game. Since then, it has become a platform that can host a wide range of games. Lego Fortnite takes a swipe at Minecraft enthusiasts with survival and click mechanisms. Fortnite Obby fun and the recent one Lego Fortnite Brick Life familiarize young players Roblox in the fold. Fortnite Festival gives rhythm game fans a regular cadence of contemporary hits to jam to.

One by one, the developers at Epic Games are busy creating modes that suit every type of player Fortnite‘s golden glove, as if they are gathering fans of specific genres, like Thanos does with Infinity Stones. And now, with this latest addition, a team-based shooter called Fortnite BallisticEpic has set its sights on fans of gritty first-person shooters. Although the game is not yet as polished as it could be: Epic released it in early access on December 11 — it shows the developers’ ambition to bring a new kind of player to the game.

Fortnite Ballistic plays just like other team-based shooters, such as Valorant or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. There are two teams: defenders and attackers. The defenders can win by either defusing an explosive set from the other team or by eliminating the entire other team. The attackers win by setting up the explosive and holding off the other team long enough to detonate it. The number of players in each team may vary, but is limited to a maximum of five.

Fortnite the Battle Royale game has a whimsical, cartoonish atmosphere. Sure, it’s a shooting game, but it’s also a game where you can drive around and jam out to Chappell Roan or go fishing. It’s not serious. Ballisticon the other hand, is much more purified. The cards have a gray, industrial look and it has an arsenal where you buy standard items like a Striker AR or Flashbangs between rounds. It doesn’t include silly little weapons like cute Sprite pets or Chug Jug.

There are definitely problems with it Ballistic. The game kicked me back to the lobby three times while I was trying to get in line for the first time. I also experienced connection issues with other teammates having glitched movements, despite running the game on a desktop with a wired connection and fiber optic internet. People came in and out mid-match, and the game currently doesn’t punish people for dipping once they decide they’re done with a team. Additionally, the UI overlapped at several times, so I couldn’t see the match score after turning off.

But the game has good bones. It didn’t take long for me to learn the pacing, the general paths I could take for each map, and even the corners I had to duck around to get a good angle. Shooting also felt accurate and consistent. And even though my personal preference still leans towards third-person shooters with chiller vibes, I couldn’t deny the satisfaction of getting a quick and clean headshot in Ballistic.

I think Ballistic will replace Valorant or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive soon? No. It took years for those games to build a dedicated audience and competitive scenes around them. But I’m curious about the future of this game, because my impressions gave me the feeling that the Epic Games team has the foundation for a solid first-person shooter here.