Fortnite Chapter 4 review
Fortnite Chapter 4 has been out for some time, but being a casual Fortnite player I’ve only just got around to the latest update, which is Chapter 4. There is plenty to dive into and today I’m going to round up all the new features to check out in Fortnite.
To kick things off we have a new map, new gameplay mechanics including motorcycles, plus a load of new weapons too. The new weapons include a Tac Pistol and a Red-eye Assault Rifle, which allows you to aim down sights, plus a couple of new shotguns and two new legendary weapons. One big new addition is the Shockwave Hammer, which a new melee weapon, plus you can use it for traversl around the map. You can smash a few opponents and then smash the floor to bounce away.
The Ex-Caliber rifle is another new addition, this is a gun that allows you to shoot swords. It sounds like something out of Borderlands. You can shoot the swords directly at opponents, or you can shoot them into the ground and they explode after a few seconds. This is somewhere between sticky grenade and a grenade launcher.
A massive feature of the latest chapter is the the new map. There are nine new points of interest on the map, mostly new, and this doesn’t include classic locations like Titled Towers and Greasy Grove.
Autumn Biome — West / Northwest Map
- Breakwater Bay
- The Citadel
- Anvil Square
- Shattered Slabs
Summer Biome — South / Southeast Map
- Frenzy Fields
- Faulty Splits
- Slappy Shores
Winter Biome — North / Northeast Map
- Lonely Labs
- Brutal Bastion
There’s a heavy medieval theme with the new chapter, most likely down to Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher being one of the major skins this season.
Reality Augments are a new mechanic found in Chapter 4. They become available as you play and you’ll get a couple of different options, plus you can reroll if you don’t like the options you are given. They give you small perks and buffs that could help you if you get into trouble, plus the augments stack throughout a match. The augments include:
- Light Fingers. Makes your weapons using Light Ammo reload faster.
- Mechanical Archer. Gives you a Mechanical Explosive Blow & Mechanical Shockwave Bow.
- Aerialist. Grants you Glider redeploy for the rest of the match.
- Supercharged. Your vehicles won’t consume fuel and they’ll have increased Health.
- Soaring Sprints. While sprinting, you’ll be able to jump much higher — and jump with lower gravity.
We also have new challenges similar to the daily and weekly challenges, plus we have new explorer quests. They include:
- Land on the new island
- Visit The Citadel, Anvil Square, and Shattered Slabs
- Search Oathbound Chests
- Collect a Shockwave Hammer and an Ex-Caliber Rifle in a single match
- Activate Augments
- Land at hot spots
- Eliminate opponents
- Hurdle over objects
- Reach 10 players remaining in a match
The new map, weapons and gameplay mechanics are great, but for me the visuals really pop and this is because of the new Unreal Engine 5.1 upgrade. Fortnite is stylised, but it’s looking better than ever. I’m playing on Xbox Series X, and it’s a real, tangible upgrade that you have to see.
Here’s some of the features of Unreal Engine 5 that Fortnite is taking advantage of:
Nanite – This allows for very detailed geometry with millions of polygons, meaning every blade of grass and brick is modeled with the new system. For example, a single tree has 300,000 polygons.
Lumen – This is the Unreal Engine 5 tool that works with ray traced reflections. You can see this in the chrome on vehicles, on weapons and character skins themselves, even the water. Lighting looks new and improved, plus we have more detailed interactions. Light bounces off surfaces and takes on characteristics, for example, you may get a hue from the relfecting colour.
Temporal Super Resolution – This improves visuals at high framerates.
Virtual Shadow Maps – Everything now has it’s own shadow, every leaf, elements of skins… everything.
Fortnite now looks like one of the best games out there. It still looks like a living cartoon, especially with the anime skins in the game, which are an interesting mix of cell shaded and more traditional Fortnite character designs. We also have new desctruction effects and realistic fire effects. Epic are planning on releasing a flame thrower later in the season to demonstrate this fully.