- I tried out Fortnite Ballistic and as an avid FPS fan, it felt like a solid minigame within the Battle Royale.
- Whether it is a lack of weapons, maps, or a solid performance mode, Ballistic is not enough to be an alternative to Valorant or CS2.
- However, Fortnite Ballistic can be a perfect fun time with friends for a weekend.
As a fan of FPS games with a ton of hours in Valorant, I was eager to try out the newly released 5v5 Fortnite Ballistic mode. Unfortunately, I had to survive a lengthy wait due to server issues. However, once I finally managed to join a match, the wait was well worth it. Fortnite Ballistic was a fun joyride when you play with friends, but is it a serious contender to Valorant?
If I start from the beginning, not everything is as fun and exciting as it sounds. For starters, the game is still Fortnite. I get that you are playing Fortnite in first-person mode, but the textures and playstyle are almost similar. And the game mode felt like a minigame within Fortnite Battle Royale; that’s not all though.
Ballistic Feels Like a Fun Fortnite Minigame
Well, a series of ill-fated events started right from the buy menu. I tried to open the buy menu first by pressing B in the game, only to end up doing a Rick Roll emote. Once I finally figured out how to open the buy menu, I ran into another problem. No, not another emote, I bought the wrong weapon and could not sell it. Being a Valorant player this felt really disappointing.
After I went over the hurdle of a complicated button mapping, my Battle Royale settings hurt my gameplay again. This time, it was the crosshair wobbling and recoil visibility. While these settings are fun in a Battle Royale setting, it felt inconsistent for a tactical shooter. So, after losing a game, I figured I must change these settings. This was when I finally cleared the obstacles and the fun part began, thanks to my friend joining my party.
My Editor quickly joined in, and I shared all my wisdom from my first game to get him ready for the experience. Then, we started running around the map with better movement than any other tactical shooter like CS2 or Valorant. Covering for your friend or bursting down a site with a friend feels fun, especially with the cool weapons that feel like original Fortnite BR guns.
The throwables add a flavor to the already exciting gameplay, but for the most part, you won’t feel the need to use them right now. Most players I came across in Ballistic seem new to the concept of tactical shooters. They were running around the map like it was a BR, so we decided to do the same and nuke them.
Unfortunately, Fortnite Ballistic feels fun for a party game but there is not enough sauce for you to feel the game is a solid alternative to games like Valorant.
Fortnite Fun in a Tac-Shooter but Misses the Full Sauce
The game mode feels like a minigame rather than a complete game for several reasons. One of the key factors impacting my experience was the stuttering and lag. Fortnite’s reputation for, well, having unoptimized gameplay, unfortunately, extends to all its game modes.
Given that my Editor and I can easily run modern FPS games on our gaming PCs, I expected solid performance from Ballistic. However, I experienced sudden frame drops during team fights, and adjusting the settings didn’t improve the situation. This made me think that Ballistic might work better as a standalone solo experience, as it could potentially reduce loading times and resource usage.
Another major downside of the game is the lack of weapons. Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 1 has a lot of fun weapons, and Ballistic not having half of them feels unfortunate.
When you enter a shooter game, you love options, but the game only has very few to even pick from. But that’s not it. The only gun I found fun to use is the Nemesis AR. Given it costs 2500 credits, you can afford this strong gun almost every round if you can get a few kills.
The flex grenades are not anything exceptional either. Most of the abilities felt like a rehash from other games with zero distinguishable identity. I had fun with the shooting and moving parts, but the utilities in Ballistic are quite non-existent.
Also, the game constantly auto-swaps weapons from the floor cause hey, it still uses the Battle Royale mechanics and settings in this game mode.
Additionally, the casual mode allows players to leave without penalty, which contributes to the minigame feel, as there’s no accountability among casual players. While this is a good move for casual gamers, it may interfere with the progress of players aiming to improve before entering competitive play.
Ballistic Has Promise But It Can’t Be A Serious Alternative
As a fan of the FPS genre, I think Fortnite Ballistic will be a perfect weekend hangout game for gamer friends who wish to grab a drink or two and run down noobs. However, comparing it to other tac-shooters is not the best call. Given the game is in early access, Epic Games might change up a lot of parts of the game to give Ballistic its own identity.
Whether it is a single map, limited weapons, or overall gameplay loops, Ballistic lacks the proper ingredients. To compete against games like Counter-Strike or Valorant, Epic Games must bring something original and put it into the game. Be it funky weapons or quirky movements, with the right spices, Fortnite Ballistic can be an alternative to Valorant or any other FPS.
For now, I must say Fortnite Ballistic is a fun minigame within the platform the game mode is not an alternative to Valorant. What do you think about Fortnite Ballistic? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
