Key Preview Takeaways:
- Smuggler’s Gambit can connect to your MyDisney account to directly link to the Smuggler’s Run ride at the Disney theme parks.
- Fortnite players will feel right at home, of course, but it’s approachable enough for Fortnite newbies, too.
- Content does not seem to be lacking in this experience, with plenty of missions on offer.
I approached Star Wars: Smuggler’s Gambit, a new Unreal Engine Fortnite project coming to Epic’s pop-culture powerhouse soon, not as a Fortnite player, but as a Star Wars fan and a Disney theme park superfan. I’ve ridden Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run at Disneyland and Disney World’s Galaxy’s Edge area of the parks dozens of times. The ride itself is a convincing motion simulator basically like a deluxe arcade game — the kind of thing they would’ve attempted at Gameworks back in the day. You and the other five people in your crew have limited agency over what happens on every instance of the ride as you collectively pilot the Falcon, with two of you splitting pilot duties, two of you serving as gunners, and two of you repairing the ship as engineers when things inevitably go south for the famous vessel you’re “borrowing” from Chewbacca.
Smuggler’s Gambit in Fortnite lets you continue the Smuggler’s Run experience by expanding it into a PvE multiplayer online game with your friends. You can also do the opposite by scanning a QR code and linking your Epic Games and MyDisney accounts in the game, which will “unlock a special experience” on Smuggler’s Run at the theme parks. What that is remains to be seen, but as someone who just did the secret “Grogu mode” the last time I was at Disneyland following the re-theme of Smuggler’s Run from sequel trilogy to The Mandalorian, I’m intrigued.
Anyway, Gambit’s hub area on Ord Ryla is anchored around a grounded ship, the Scuttled Sparrow, along with three factions, weapon and item vendors, a dock where you’ll board a ship to your missions, and a spot where Hondo himself hangs out (and yes, he’s voiced by returning actor Jim Cummings). There are several missions you and the other players on your server can vote on, and from there you’ll head to the dock to board the ship to start the quest. Gameplay is familiar from there, but fun: waypoints mark the route to your required and optional objectives, which are also listed on the screen, and any allies nearby will be noted on your HUD as well.
Cooperation will be highly recommended on higher difficulty levels, but even on normal difficulty settings, things can get hairy in a hurry when enough stormtroopers — some wielding higher-damage weapons like plasma cutters or grenade launches — spawn in and/or are guarding the objective. But of course, not only will you level up as you take out bad guys, you’ll be able to level up your weapons, too. I started with a bone-stock blaster rifle, but by the time I holstered my weapon at the end of the event at level 6, my blaster was a force to be reckoned with. It could still overheat if I went wild with my trigger finger, certainly, but when I took the time to aim down sights and aim for the head, it did a lot of damage in a hurry.
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