Epic recently revealed on Twitter that Fortnite would be, once again taking part in a crossover event alongside Marvel for the release of Avengers: Endgame. Now the event is live and after some hands-on, I’ve got to say, its a blast. Here’s all you need to know.
Widows Bite
Fortnite is famous for its customization, more specifically its various skins. Whilst skins like the “John Wick” skin are obviously based on characters from other properties, Fortnite has never had an official skin from another franchise. Until Now. The Black Widow skin (Seen Below) can be bought for 1,500 V-Bucks. There is not only a red-haired version of the skin but also a blonde haired Black Widow more representative of her Infinity War apperance.
There’s also a new harvesting tool titled “Widows bite” made up to look like her classic Shock Batons.
If you want to get the full Black Widow look you can also outfit your character with the Black Widow inspired back-bling.
Last but by no means least there’s even a Black Widow inspired emote named “Widows Pirouette”
We’re in the endgame now
So, whilst the Black Widow inspired cosmetics are all well and good, the real meat of the event is the brand new Endgame gamemode which after playing for several hours is seriously fun. The premise is simple, two teams go head to head. One team are the heroes and whilst they look like there normal Fortnite player they have access to the likes of Stormbreaker, Iron Man’s Repulsors, Captain America’s shield and, Hawkeyes bow. The other team are the Chitauri and must collect the six infinity stones as they periodically fall down onto the map. At random one Chitauri will be chosen to play as the mad titan himself who is exactly the same as he was in last years Infinity War event.
The Chitauri have a limited number of respawns and so getting to those stones first matters. The heroes, on the other hand, have unlimited respawns UNTIL all the stones have been collected, after that once they die they stay dead.
The entire game turns into the tug of war with the heroes frantically building around the gems to protect them and the Chitauri constantly trying to push forward.
As for the new weapons well, the Chitauri are equipped with a Laser Rifle, an Energy Launcher (AKA a grenade launcher), and a jet pack to help them get around. The rifle is basically an AR and is pretty handy for picking off people at long range and the Energy Launcher is a fantastic tool for breaking down buildings which may be surrounding the stones.
As for the heroes weapons, Iron Man’s repulsors are the standouts for me. Dare I say a little bit too powerful but nevertheless, they are fun. Hovering in the sky and blasting beams of energy at your opponents does not get old and its lock on feature is pretty damn powerful too. Hawkeye’s bow isn’t as flashy as Stormbreaker or Iron Man’s gauntlets buts its pretty practical. Explosive arrows and a grapple mechanic make getting around much faster. Speaking of Stormbreaker it’s by far the coolest of the four. Swing it, throw it, slam it into the ground. It sure does make you feel like a powerhouse, just be sure to aim for the head. Cap’s trusty shield is pretty cool too. Use to block incoming fire or frisbee it towards your enemy. Pretty standard stuff but it’s a lot of fun. The in-game renders for all of these weapons and the Chitauri look absolutely fantastic. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Chitauri or more Marvel based skins become available to buy in the future.
The game mode itself seems fairly balanced. Chitauri can feel very underpowered when going up against someone using a Stormbreaker or Iron Man’s Repulsors but on the flip side of that, taking a hero down as a regular grunt is possible and feels incredibly satisfying. Thanos feels exactly the same as he did last year in the Infinity War event and whilst he does still feel powerful he can be quickly overwhelmed. That being said I feel like I’ve won and lost as both the heroes and Chitauri roughly the same amount of times.
It’s the little details that really put the cherry on top of this cake though. Excelsior popping up at the end of a match or the title card turning to dust if you lose as the heroes really make this feel like a love letter to Marvel fans and thats what so great about this event. Someone like me who has absolutely no care in the world for Fortnite but is a huge Marvel fan can jump on and play in this event for free.
So, with all the Avengers: Endgame hype will you be jumping on Fortnite over the weekend to try this event out? Or if you’ve already played it what do you think of it? Let us know down below or over on Twitter.