Blackout vs Fortnite: Which Battle Royale Game is Better?
Gameplay
Both games boil down to being the last person standing out of 100 people on the map, but they go about getting to that point in very different ways.
Fortnite’s building mechanics change the entire way the player has to think about encounters and traversal. Simply being able to out-shoot your opponent isn’t always good enough in a fight. If you aren’t able to build quickly and efficiently in Fortnite you’re going to have a very hard time surviving. In order to build you will have to mine resources from the environment with your pickaxe, which is another inventory you will have to manage.
Building isn’t only for combat though, scaling a mountain or structure can be done easily by building staircases or ramps to get the height advantage or simply scout the area. This adds another layer of strategy for just simply traversing the map. Is getting the high ground more important or will that leave you open to attack from all sides? These are the things you’re forced to think about in Fortnite constantly, and are an aspect of the game that keep it complex and interesting every time you play.
Fortnite is also constantly iterating on itself with new weapons, vehicles, and equipment. Additions like the grappling hook have changed fights dramatically with players zipping up to the top of another player’s fort for a quick kill. The Quadcrasher is an ATV with a rocket booster on the back allowing players to soar through the skies to cover ground quickly with a teammate. All of these additions are fun ways to keep players engaged and that level of quick support from Fortnite is rarely seen today.
Blackout has only just been released, but it is taking the genre by storm. It blends battle royale and Call of Duty better than we could have hoped and because of that it has created something different from what competitors are offering. Call of Duty is known for its fast-paced combat and low time to kill, which fits battle royale like a glove. Blackout takes the CoD formula and adds to it in a way not seen in previous Call of Duty titles.
The extremely polished gunplay is a big part of what makes Blackout feel so good to play again and again. Firefights are tough and it feels rewarding to kill other players with weapons from both Black Ops 4 and previous Black Ops titles. Blackout has a battle pass and leveling system similar to Fortnite that rewards players for completing challenges and winning matches.
One big aspect of Blackout that is ingrained in its DNA are zombies. Zombies are scattered across the map in different locations each time. Zombies in Blackout drop unique weapons that can only be found by killing them or in areas infested with them. The World War II MP-40 is an iconic weapon that can be earned in Blackout this way and it makes it that much rewarding to obtain during a match.
Both battle royale games offer variety in their gameplay, and while Blackout is still fairly new, it is catching up to Fortnite quickly and could give it a serious run for its money.
Winner: Fortnite is simply uncontested when it comes to gameplay. It offers a variety of different modes that are constantly being switched out each week, an insane building mechanic that is easy to learn but difficult to master, and the constant support provided by Epic keeps it engaging for all players. Of course, it comes down to personal preference when deciding which is more fun to play. If you’re looking for a military style battle royale game, Blackout takes the cake. But we felt that Fortnite’s building mechanics continue to be unique and innovative in creating tense situations, particularly towards the end game.
