Image credit: Epic Games / Dice / EA
I have a ridiculous amount of hours in both the original Star Wars Battlefront series and EA’s more recently published additions. I didn’t play during the micro-transaction-infested mess of the launch of Battlefront 2, so I never truly understood the “sense of pride and accomplishment” players felt at that time. But I can say I have derived immense enjoyment from the franchise’s classic and modern titles.
So when a game that I had not touched in years at this point, Fortnite, announced a spiritual successor to the franchise with its Star Wars toolkit and Galactic Siege game mode, I became pensively excited. I gave it a go, and as both a fan of the Battlefront franchise and someone who had not touched Fortnite since 2018 (God, I’m old), here are a few observations I made on my experience (and what I hope for the future of Battlefront).
A galaxy that’s actually quite nearby
Galactic Siege is a new Fortnite game mode in collaboration with the Star Wars franchise. Added recently, it is one of several game modes created by Epic Games using its new Star Wars Toolkit, which will allow players to utilize Star Wars assets to create unique game modes.
It is one of three that have been officially created by Epic, alongside a survival mode where you and other players are hunted by Darth Vader, and an incremental game mode called “Droid Tycoon.”
Firstly, when did Fortnite become Titanfall? I know I’m probably just late to the party, but I was sprinting and sliding around so fast it felt like I was moving at the speed of sound. No human can jump as far as I was leaping.
Changes to the gameplay aside, the usage of the Star Wars toolkit from the general player base appears to mostly be used to create incremental “tycoon” games or simple parkour maps. If you showed me some of the thumbnails for said game modes in isolation, I would say it looks like Roblox, not the world’s foremost Battle Royale.
Anyway, enough of my general confusion about how much the game has changed since I last played it; let’s get to the actual point: Galactic Siege.
There are two maps currently playable in the game mode, one in a Star Destroyer, the other on an ice planet resembling Hoth. In both, there are three main objective points that either team must capture and hold. To win a match, you must hold a majority of the points for long enough to fill a meter. The first team to fill the meter wins the game.
At the start of the round, and every time you die, you can choose between four classes, each with its own unique loadoats. There is also one special unit with a jetpack called “pilot” and one faction-appropriate hero, alongside your chosen in-game skin with their own customisable lightsaber, force abilities, and upgrades. All of this customization can be done in the lobby before a match.
I think I’m getting déjà vu
To fans of the Battlefront franchise, that gameplay style will sound incredibly familiar. Picking between four classes, capture points, lightsaber-wielding special units, etc. Most of these are staples of the Battlefront games, with the classes available being directly ripped from Battlefront 2. You can even fly some Star Wars vehicles around the Hoth-inspired map (although the map is far too small for this to be fun).
The main question is, does this scratch the same Star Wars itch that the Battlefront series does? My answer, kind of, but not really. While it’s a fun gamemode, it was obviously never going to be as in-depth as those entries, as they are standalone titles while this is a gamemode within a larger game that, at the time of writing, only has two maps and a few unlockables.
The big draw of the Battlefront franchise was being a foot soldier in the large-scale battles we see in Star Wars, and playing as a few of the iconic characters of the franchise. This gamemode doesn’t really feel like you’re a cog in a larger war machine; more like you are the machine, mowing down troops and capturing points on your lonesome. Especially with the aforementioned blistering movement and 3rd person perspective (I always played Battlefront in 1st person), it just doesn’t have the same level of immersion.
Star Wars die-hards may also be upset at the accuracy of some of this game mode. Every single character has access to force abilities. While I don’t particularly care about lore in this instance, as again, it’s just supposed to be a fun gamemode, it is funny to see Emperor Palpatine running full pelt, swinging a lightsaber around. Especially since he’d be over 100 years old when considering the timeline.
Which has me ask the question, after playing this gamemode for several hours, I went back to DICE’s Battlefront 2 and played that. This whole experience made me appreciate that game more, but not only that, it made me wonder if we’d ever get the fabled third entry into the series. While I’d love it if there were one, I think we all know it would have to be pretty damn perfect to live up to the expectations.
There really is no better experience if you want to get a realistic feel of the Star Wars universe, and honestly, as long as it isn’t flooded with microtransactions, I feel the game is guaranteed to succeed.
Until then, though, Galactic Siege is okay. And to anyone who doesn’t own Battlefront 2, firstly, why not? And secondly, if you want a free version and are okay with it being just alright, give Fortnite Galactic Siege a try; it’s fine. But I’ll still be dreaming of a Battlefront 3, one day.
FAQs
Galactic Siege is a game mode in Fortnite using the new Star Wars toolkit. This toolkit is available to players to create their own unique games; however, Galactic Siege was made by Epic Games.
There are already several hundred community-made game modes using the toolkit; however, there are two aside from Galactic Siege made by Epic Games, those being: Escape Vader (4-player co-op survival) and Droid Tycoon (an incremental factory builder).
Currently, no announcement has been made regarding a third entry in the Battlefront franchise. However, many fans, myself included, are desperate for a new entry.
To play Galactic Siege, all you need to do is download the base Fortnite game and scroll down on the main menu; it will be there under the Star Wars collection alongside the other new game modes. After a small download, you can start capturing command points and blasting troopers to your heart’s content.
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