Fortnite Ballistic is looking for a new type of player

Fortnite no more only a culture-defining battle royale game. Since then, it has become a platform for hosting a wide variety of games. Lego Fortnite runs his finger over Mining craft lovers of survival and clickable crafting mechanics. Fortnite Obby Entertainment and recent LEGO Fortnite Brick Life introduce young players to Roblox into the fold. Fortnite festival gives rhythm game fans a regular rhythm of modern hits to listen to.

One after another, Epic Games developers are creating modes that suit every type of player. FortniteThe Golden Glove is as if it was gathering fans of certain genres, like Thanos with the Infinity Stones. And now, with this latest addition, a team-based shooter called Fortnite BallisticEpic is targeting fans of gritty first-person shooters. While the game isn’t quite as polished as it could be—Epic released it in Early Access on December 11—it shows the developers’ commitment to bringing a new type of player to the game.

Fortnite Ballistic plays just like other team shooters such as Grade or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. There are two teams: defenders and attackers. The defenders can win by either disarming the opposing team’s explosive device or by eliminating the entire other team. The attackers win by planting the explosive and delaying the other team long enough for it to detonate. The number of players on each team may vary, but the maximum is five.

Fortnite The Battle Royale game has a whimsical, cartoonish feel to it. Sure, it’s a shooter, but it’s also a game where you can drive around and go to Chappell Roane or go fishing. It’s not serious. Ballisticon the other hand, much more refined. His maps have a gray industrial look, and he has an arsenal where you buy standard items like Striker AR or flashbang grenades between rounds. He doesn’t have stupid little weapons like cute pet sprites or chug jars.

There are definitely problems with Ballistic. The game threw me back into the lobby three times while I was trying to queue up the first time I played. I also had trouble connecting to other teammates, who had glitchy movements despite running the game on a desktop computer with a wired connection and fiber internet access. People would come and go mid-match, and the game currently doesn’t penalize people for quitting the moment they decide the team is done. Additionally, the UI would overlap at various points, so I couldn’t see the match score after I was eliminated.

But the game has good bones. I soon learned the pacing, the general paths I could take on each map, and even the corners I needed to go around to get a good angle. The shooting was also accurate and consistent. And while my personal preferences still lean towards third-person shooters with a cooler atmosphere, I couldn’t deny the satisfaction of getting a quick and accurate headshot in Ballistic.

Do I think Ballistic will replace Grade or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive soon? No. It took years for these games to build a dedicated audience and competitive scene. But I’m interested in the future of this game because my impressions left me with the feeling that the Epic Games team has the makings of making a good first-person shooter.