Fortnite’s new High Stakes mode is a bit of a classic, I think. It’s only just dropped in but, two games down, I’m already mourning the moment they snatch it away from us again. It’s super simple: you land somewhere, hunt for a safe and extract a jewel from inside, and then you have to lug it to a getaway van. It’s squad-based, so it’s all about teamwork, and because this is Fortnite, the intricacies in terms of approach are already muddling my brain.
But let’s put that aside for now. Instead, let’s talk about The Grappler, which has launched alongside High Stakes. Grappling guns are already money in the bank as far as games are concerned – the uncoiling swoosh of Arkham’s, the boots-against-the-wall landing in Just Cause 2. Yes! Grappling guns are the kind of thing you dream about owning in real life. I’m not going to walk to the Co-op for Stroopwafels, I’m going to zip there and probably land on the roof. I’m going to ride the Grappling Railway! (Just me?)
Anyway. Fortnite’s Grappler is fantastic. It doesn’t pin you neatly to the place you aimed at so much as loft you in that general direction. It’s so quick, and a bit dazzling with it. You get a surprising amount of air, and you might land somewhere unexpected and find you’ve gotten yourself in trouble. It’s limited-use, which I wish I had known in advance, so eventually you’ve grappled too much and it simple disappears from your arsenal, without so much as an insouciant pop as it goes. Most importantly, though? At the end of the grappling line you don’t have a hook, but a huge red plunger.
Source: Eurogamer Fortnite is a reminder of something Quackshot already proved: games and plungers belong together