Fortnite’s Godzilla Collab Absolutely Gets the Awe of Giant Monsters

At this point, it’s probably more realistic to define what franchises and brands are Fortnite did not cross with. Epic’s battle royale shooter is a melting pot of licensed absurditywhere Luke Skywalker and Hatsune perform an array of memetic dances over the virtual corpses of everyone from Miku and Goku to Ariana Grande. Its homogenous ur-brand makes it tough for the latest in a long line of crossovers to be announced at this point, but its latest with the legendary “Monsterverse” world is definitely a cut above the rest… and not just because it involves monsters taller than most of Fortnite’s island map.

Late last week Epic and Legendary launched a major new collaboration as part of Fortnite’s latest season, bringing skins inspired by Godzilla vs. Kong And new empire to the shooter. But outside of that Godzilla (himself a bit A crossover queenas of late) now have a physical presence Fortniteits map. Randomly at some point in a game, a giant portal can pop up somewhere on the island, and the first player to run through it transforms into Godzilla to destroy their enemies. if you no Godzilla, you can ping bullet after bullet at the kaiju and try to whittle down his healthbar, getting rewarded if you do the most damage. if you is Godzilla, slowly but surely stomping, hit-beaming, and scree-unking your way through the map as you have time, leaving a trail of crumbling buildings and dead players in your wake.

What’s truly impressive about it is that it’s fun as hell to be on both ends of this apocalyptic scene. Godzilla is invincible and slow, but walks a fine line between feeling powerful enough in a way that emphasizes the power and scale you’re playing with, and the sheer carnage he can take through the scenery or tear players apart with his blasts of breath. Be scary, but not so overwhelming that it’s impossible to fight back. But it’s arguably the most fun when you’re on the ground: whether you’re miles away from Godzilla or dangerously close to his sprawling feet, Fortnite Absolutely nailed the sense of scale you want out of such an encounter. The look is on point (well, in terms of replicating the legendary version of the Big G), the sound design is on point, but it’s definitely the size and scope, unlike almost anything else. Fortnite Has done for years, which makes Godzilla feel very special.

You can see him almost across the map, as tall as the island’s tallest mountains. Judges your screen as he approaches, or when a neon-pink jolt of energy passes you. Whatever the version FortniteThere’s a certain level of destructibility where you’re at in Battle Royale that’s part of the game’s dynamic, and Godzilla completely changes that, having the ability to cover entire buildings in one blast. And again, as chaotic as it can be, there’s a sense of justification to it all: the beams are powerful, but slow enough that you can try to dramatically traverse the path they’re burning across the ground. Being stunned by Godzilla is less about instantly stunning you and more about its displacement, sending you and anyone else nearby flying back, the better to jump on its scale. It doesn’t make sense injustice going up against Godzilla, but he doesn’t feel like a pushover all the same as the guys fight to do the most damage to him, weaving themselves in equal measure between their gunfire and the radiating bolts of Godzilla’s own heat rays.

FortniteGodzilla has a sense of weight to it that jibes with the abundance of air movement that otherwise defines shooters (especially this season, which has re-implemented a lot of movement mechanics to enable players to feel more dynamic and perform smoother traversals). He’s disruptive in the best sense: he can only be around for a few minutes in a match, if he has a chance to appear, wherever you are, when he by doing show, He commands attention. And what else should the king of all demons do, but claim by his mere presence?

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