Fortnite Has Nailed It’s Three New Game Modes
When I mention Fortnite to people, it’s usually one of two reactions. One person would find the use of different IPs in non-canon scenarios cringe, and the other would usually be actively playing and loving the game. Since December 7th, Fortnite has shaken its foundations once again and has released several new amazing game modes. With these Fortnite has turned into something more akin to a metaverse.
The first of three new game modes to be released was Lego Fortnite. A survival game akin to Valheim or Minecraft but with Lego. I’ve played a good dozen hours or so of Lego Fortnite, and while it does invoke the same feeling of freedom and wonder as other survival games. I feel it’s the base for something that could be much bigger.
Lego Fortnite Ushers in a New Age for Itself
What separates this survival game from others is the village system. You can build around a village totem and invite random Fortnite NPCs in Lego form to come to live there. Some can be assigned as bodyguards, others farmers, and some can also gather resources for you. Everything else feels like a regular old survival game with hunger, temperature, and health bars to keep filling up. At one point, Lego Fortnite was the #1 most-played game mode on the platform. Which previously was always dominated by the Battle Royale modes. Epic has further incentivized players to play it by awarding 30k Battle Pass XP for every 15 minutes you play, up to 3.5 hours a day.
This also rings true for other game modes that have been released such as the new Festival mode. Each day you get a large number of daily quests to complete such as playing a certain instrument or earning a certain number of stars. Festival is heavily related to previous Rock Band titles by Harmonix, who is also the main developer for this game mode. A teaser by PDP has also been released on Twitter (AKA X), where guitar controllers are being made for the mode along with support for said instrument controllers.
Festival Brings Life to a Long-Neglected Genre
Many long-time rhythm game players such as Acai28 on Twitch and Youtube have been praising this game mode. Claiming that it will introduce a new generation to amazing music and spark interest in rhythm games again to the mainstream. Years ago, rhythm games were mostly dying due to a large amount of them being released. Coupled with the expensive plastic controllers required to play them being a large barrier to entry. Now, with Fortnite Festival anyone can play these Rock Band-inspired games with their console controllers or keyboard with a clever button layout.
The game is pretty much what you’d expect. You can play several difficulties with 4-note tracks or an expert mode with 5-note tracks. Racking up a streak and getting stars for your efforts along with your band. Players can also emote during certain musical breaks, and use any skin in their locker. Which can bring some wild matchups of characters from different properties.
New Modes, New Shop Items for Sale
New songs come every few days or so in the store. Songs are 500 V-Bucks each and can be used as emotes to play different instrument tracks or shared with friends in a party to play along with in Festival mode. There’s also a side mode called Jam Stage where you can take those purchased or unlocked tracks and mix them with other players to create something unique. All songs in the featured section of the shop will also be available to play for free in Festival mode.
Another game mode of the three released last week is Rocket Racing. As with all three new game modes, I’ve spent several hours with this one as well. Rocket Racing is developed by Psyonix, the team behind Rocket League. This also comes with a crossover of Rocket League cars and cosmetics for the platform. Racing in these cars feels like a mix between F-Zero and Mario Kart. F-Zero shares similarities with Rocket Racing’s high speeds and gravity-defying movement. The similarities of Mario Kart come from the drifting mechanics to go faster out of turns.
Rocket Racing and Festival Invite Developers to Create Mode Game Modes on It’s Platform
Rocket Racing brings a ton of high-speed tracks out of the gate. A ranked mode and several different new quests for a massive amount of Battle Pass XP for playing the game are also available. I love riding tracks sideways or upside down or even flying through hoops through the air to pass other racers. This mode didn’t come without controversy though. When Rocket Racing was released, the shop dropped three car skins with outrageous prices. Two cars were 2,500 V-Bucks, with the third being 4,000! I haven’t seen anyone in anything other than the default car or rarely the Batte Pass cars available. So I assume they didn’t make many sales with these cars. They have since lowered the price and issued the difference of V-Bucks to players who purchased them. Bringing them down from 2,500 to 1,500 and 4,000 to 2,500.
I’ve had a lot of fun playing all three of these modes. It’s also given Epic an open invitation for developers to create on their platform. Making Fortnite a large hub of different shared experiences. There are rumors of more game modes coming, such as a sports mode or basketball mode. This was teased in the chapter 5 event with the NBA hoops and basketballs.
I’m personally excited to see what Epic brings to the table going forward. It’s become my main game since these three new game modes were released. Epic has also said these game modes are here to stay with constant updates and content being added to each of them. Each game mode will also have UEFN support for developers to work with. Here’s to Fortnite becoming one of the greatest metaverses to blossom this year.
