Fortnite’s latest season is as chaotic as the media that inspired it
Chapter 5 Season 3 of Fortnite is utterly overwhelming. The first time I dropped from the Battle Bus and onto the deserted lands of Brawler’s Battleground, I couldn’t tell up from down. The stadium — which is designed to look like a monster truck rally venue — comes equipped with flamethrowers, live rock music, and stacks of spinning rip blades. After winning a desperate scramble with other players and scattered AI bots, I didn’t stop to shield up and heal. Instead, I went into my menu and turned the sound down.
As it turns out, that flurry of activity in those opening moments came to characterize the general vibe of Fortnite’s latest big update. Dubbed “Wrecked,” this season pushes Fortnite away from its posh European locales and instead creates an anarchic wasteland inspired by the likes of the Fallout games and, seemingly, Mad Max. Take those two franchises as starting inspiration points, then layer on a hefty serving of Metallica on top, and the results are a gameplay experience that’s caked in chaotic sludge — so much so that it might weigh down the fun at some points.
The update is absolutely littered with new items. There are the Nitro Fists, which can melee through even the fiercest opponents with an explosion of power. There’s a new set of Medallions, which you pick up after boss fights and use to give yourself powerful buffs. There are the Lockjaw battle cars, which can plow through anything and contain mounted turrets.
If you don’t get one of the battle cars, that’s fine, because the map is literally covered with other vehicles you can modify, Flaming Boost Hoops that can send you zooming across the map (or into another player, if you so wish), and items like the Ride the Lightning guitar that allow you to soar through the sky. If you yourself want to become a weapon, no problem. The plentiful Nitro Splash allows your character to run through buildings and destroy them with a simple jump into the Splash.
This results in moments that feel either bad to
Read more on polygon.com
