Fortnite's next chapter includes boss battles, LEGO, Solid Snake, and a brand new island

Fortnite is going underground. Following Saturday's Big Bang event that caused the destruction of the Chapter 4 island, some big changes are coming to the battle royale in a new season called "Underground." It includes gameplay features like a new island, boss battles, Lego skins, and of course more licensed characters like Metal Gear's Solid Snake and Family Guy's Peter Griffin.

Let's start with the island. In the update – which brings the game to Chapter 5: Season 1 – the battle royale island has been completely redesigned, which means several new locations. There's a railway – complete with a train you can actually travel on – as well as marinas, mansions and a brand new meadow. There is plenty of snow there too.

As far as gameplay changes go, the island is now littered with five boss characters – one of which is Peter Griffin. Defeating them will give players a medal with a very useful feature: the ability to regenerate shields over time. But there is a drawback, as placing a medal will alert other players to your location on the map. “The more medals you have, the more accurate your location radius will be,” Epic says.

Other additional features include: an SUV to drive around in, a weapon called the Ballistic Shield that lets you "defend yourself with a shield while firing the pistol at the same time", healing or restoring shields. Features to do, the option to move around, and the ability to upgrade weapons at certain locations around the island. There is also a new type of in-game cosmetic; Now, apart from customizing your character and weapons, you can also customize vehicles. You can choose different bodies, decals, and wheels, and once you sit in the sports car in the game, the vehicle will transform as per your liking. (Some items from Rocket League will remain for those who play both games.)

Those who acquire this season's Battle Pass will eventually be able to unlock new versions of Jones and Solid Snake as well as all-new boss characters in the season.

And then there's Lego. On Saturday, Epic announced an upcoming in-game experience called Lego Fortnite, part of an ongoing partnership with the "survival crafting" game, which will launch inside Fortnite on December 7. But this collaboration also extends to the skin of the game. game. Most of the existing skins – over 1,200 according to Epic – will include a Lego-style option that does exactly what it sounds like, rendering characters like yellow bananas in Lego bricks. However, it appears that these styles will only be usable in LEGO experiences inside Fortnite.

The launch of Chapter 5 comes at a very busy time for Fortnite. The game's popularity skyrocketed in November with the release of Fortnite OG, which brought back the original island and many fan-favorite locations, items, and characters. According to Epic, it was the biggest day in the game's history, with over 44 million players joining on November 4. It culminated with The Big Bang Live event on Saturday, which not only saw the Chapter 4 island destroyed, but also displayed. A virtual concert by Eminem.