Blackout vs Fortnite: Which Battle Royale Game Is Better?

Blackout vs Fortnite: Which Battle Royale Game is Better?

Graphics

Fortnite’s unique graphical style does not push the boundary in the battle royale genre, but it helps create a distinct style that is easily recognizable. It is easy to to look at Blackout, an extremely polished Call of Duty battle royale game, and state that graphically it pushes the hardware to its limits.

Fortnite’s style is cartoonish and vibrant, which lends itself well to the chaotic and zany world around it. Just because the game doesn’t have bleeding edge graphics doesn’t mean it is inherently worse than Blackout. Fortnite’s graphics are an artistic choice by the developers to allow for interesting and clever skins, gliders, and emotes without them feeling out of place.

Blackout, on the other hand, is true to the Call of Duty franchise by excelling in the graphics department in a different way. Blackout feels truly like the next evolution of graphics in the battle royale genre. Compared much more to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Blackout is more military-focused in its aesthetic and gameplay. Blackout’s graphics are better than Fortnite’s from a technical standpoint and when compared side by side.

Winner: Blackout takes the graphics category hands down. Like I stated previously Call of Duty is always on the forefront of bleeding edge graphics and in Blackout it is no different. While Blackout doesn’t produce the insane visuals seen in the rest of Black Ops 4, it still is the best looking battle royale game out there.

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.

Blackout vs Fortnite: Which Battle Royale Game is Better?

Map

When replaying a game constantly such as Fortnite or Blackout, the map is a huge deal. The map needs to be interesting, large, and feel like every location matters.

Fortnite’s map has changed more than several times in just a year, making it one of the most dynamic maps we’ve ever seen. With rocket launches, giant purple cubes, and dimensional rifts, Fortnite has certainly kept players engaged with their map and all that surrounds it. Fortnite’s map checks all three of the elements I mentioned above.

It has a myriad of interesting places ranging from old western towns to high end golf courses. The map bolsters 18 named locations for players to explore as well as unnamed locations like a giant castle, a viking town, and a sports recreation center. Each of these locations matter because they all provide loot, cover, and materials for players to gather at beginning of each match.

Some places on the map are more popular than others (Tilted Towers I see you), but really it’s all about going where you or your squad want to go. Players never feel pigeon holed into dropping into “the best spot.” Each new season of Fortnite brings changes to the map in interesting ways which further change up locations for players to go check out. This season, there is a giant floating island that is changing location every couple of days.

Blackout’s map features fan-favorite areas from the previous Black Ops installments. Areas like Asylum, Estates, and Nuketown Island are all re-imagined versions for players to explore. This idea is central to Blackout as it is an amalgamation of all things Black Ops. This is great because even though these are familiar areas, they still feel fresh.

As mentioned earlier, zombies are an important part of the map as players never really know what spots will have zombies in them. This helps add a layer of variety to the map each game. While it doesn’t drastically change anything about the map, it is a nice touch.

When looking at the three areas Blackout hits the mark somewhat. The map has interesting areas, but a lot of it consists of trees or large stretches of land with nothing happening. Players will find themselves traversing through a lot of hills and open fields going from each named location. This can be stressful as it leaves players vulnerable to fire from enemies, but outside of that factor it is relatively uninteresting.

The map certainly is large, even with a truck or ATV traveling across the map will still take time. Players don’t feel stacked on top of each other because there is still plenty of space for everyone to drop across the map. Even though it is large, like I said earlier a lot of it is just stretches of uninteresting land. What about the named locations though? Well, those are certainly interesting and offer plenty of loot and cover for players. Some areas even have parts you can interact with, like doors to secret tunnels or opening garage doors.

Every named location in Blackout feels like it matters. Those are the best areas to drop and easily offer the most loot for you to score. It really boils down to the unnamed areas, which offer little to nothing of value. Sometimes you’ll find a good weapon, but at the cost of being stuck in the middle of nowhere being forced to travel a great distance towards the circle.

Winner:  Fortnite takes this category because it nails all three criteria mentioned above. Everything on that map is engaging and feels like it belongs. With constant changes to the single map over the course of this past year, Fortnite has continued to have total map control in the battle royale genre.

Blackout vs Fortnite: Which Battle Royale Game is Better?

And the winner is…

Both games offer a great battle royale experiences with unique graphical styles, play styles, and polish. However, only one of them can come out on top in this and without a doubt it is Fortnite.

Fortnite’s rise to market dominance was swift and unexpected, but for good reason. Its distinct graphical choice, constantly changing map, and over the top gameplay all factor into this. Blackout is a worthy challenger and is already making great strides towards Fortnite’s market, but it just needs more time to get into the position Fortnite is in.

Given more time, Blackout could easily turn the tables but for now Fortnite is still the better battle royale game. Both are fun and extremely competitive in their own right. Fortnite also has the added benefit of being free, making it wildly more accessible than Blackout which comes packed with Black Ops 4 at a $60 price tag.

But that’s just our opinion. Which do you think is the better battle royale game? Blackout perhaps? Maybe even PUBG? Let us know in the comments down below.