Why ragdoll physics in Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 1 could be its biggest update yet

Despite Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 1 being live for less than a week, it’s already a big hit with players. Riding off the success of the Simpsons x Fortnite mini-season from November, the Hollywood-inspired chapter has players work with Kill Bill’s The Bride, earn levels to collect the Marty McFly skin from Back to the Future, and much more.

Yet it’s the gameplay improvements that have also become a big highlight of this new chapter. With new mechanics for players to use when they’re knocked down, as well as surfing to the island at the start of the match, there’s a lot to like. However, one that has not been directly confirmed by developer Epic Games is the ragdoll physics now in Fortnite.

First, we need to go back to 2004, when Valve’s Half-Life 2 debuted. Ragdoll physics weren’t a huge part of games back then. You would defeat an enemy, but they’d usually collapse into something that had been animated, not something that felt natural. But once Valve’s seismic first-person shooter arrived, being able to manipulate the world with the Gravity Gun tool, especially when it came to the end of the game, where enemies could be pulled with the tool, was revolutionary.

Nowadays, ragdoll physics are a common aspect in games. From Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to Tekken 8, no animation is usually the same once you see a character like Link fall down a cliff. With Fortnite’s Chapter 7, Season 1 update, players are discovering that ragdoll physics can still surprise and delight.

Now, if you log into a match or jump into a mode where you’re building things with other players, you may discover some new experiences. Moments where your character trips up or gets knocked down, and this time, they naturally roll down, instead of seeing the same animation you’ve experienced for years.

It’s the ragdoll effect that’s making Fortnite more realistic, but more fun for players. But why has it taken this long, considering it’s been eight years since the free-to-play title has been available to play?

The theory is that new items in Fortnite Chapter 7, Season 1, like the wingsuit, which lets your character glide through the map, as well as new knockdown mechanics where players can roll to avoid gunshots, are the reasons. When you think back to previous items, like Spider-Man’s web shooters from Chapter 3, you saw the same animation as characters leapt and connected to another object to go further.

But with ragdoll physics, using the wingsuit makes characters look far more natural, as well as for moments when you’re throwing teammates into the driveable reboot vans to revive them. It’s why ragdoll physics is Fortnite’s biggest update in recent years. This will not only make existing mechanics more realistic, but also previous ones, which could make a return.

Not just the web-shooter item, but the force-push move from a Star Wars character, and Marvel characters like Iron Man, in how they look when in flight. All of these could look fantastic with ragdoll physics built into them, supercharging the impact when players use them.

This way, it could make previous items feel like new again, making them fresh for existing players, while also being exciting for new ones. It’s a win-win for Epic Games, as they could bring some items back for Christmas, and could look far better with ragdoll physics than they ever have before.

It’s great to see the ragdoll mechanic in Fortnite after years of players hoping to see it implemented. Indeed, it’s also resulting in some funny moments, as this Reddit post shows, but it’s ultimately adding to the fun of what Fortnite is. It’s a free-to-play title that lets you and a few friends try to win a match against 100 other players.

It’ll be interesting to see how Epic Games uses ragdoll physics in the future. Perhaps structures could fall apart instead of disappearing after a few seconds, or new modes could fully revolve around the mechanic that could result in some fun and unexpected moments. Whatever the case, ragdoll physics are here to stay in Fortnite, and it’s only adding to the success of what Chapter 7, Season 1 is already bringing to new and existing players alike.