Chapter 4, Season 2 of Fortnite is here and with it a brand-new Battle Pass bearing a bevy of new skins, back blings, harvesting tools, emotes and all the rest of the cosmetics that make a new season of Epic’s battle royale so invigorating.
First up is the brand-new Renzo, the Destroyer skin, which immediately gives off Robbie Reyes Cosmic Ghost Rider vibes in appearance with some space pirate swag mixed in on account of his collared zip-up vest and long-sleeved shirt.
Although Renzo seems to be a slightly-veiled homage to German streamer Rezo, who is known for his “Destruction of the CDU” video from 2019, his in-game description of “The galaxy’s premier doomfluencer” lends him the air of some sort of futuristic, showman cyborg streamer who specializes in transmitting his violent exploits within the Loop to his followers all in the name of entertainment.
Renzo’s Nemesis Box back bling is where his presumed backstory becomes interesting; is the Nemesis Box, which bears the description, “Nobody knows what it does. They’re too afraid to ask,” similar to the Lament Configuration, in that when it’s opened Renzo is sent after whoever seeks its contents like the extra-dimensional, demonic Cenobites from Hellraiser? Because that makes Renzo’s whole “doomfluencer” designation even more intriguing.
As far as entry level Battle Pass skins go, this is one of my favorites in a long time — maybe even edging out my previous favorites of The Mandalorian and Drift. I’m a big Ghost Rider stan, so the cybernetic Robbie Reyes look, along with the blue and magenta comet-fire mohawk is slick-looking and the space corsair/gentleman swindler look is drippy as well.
While the Nemesis Box is intriguing lore-wise, it’s fairly run-of-the-mill as far as back blings go looks-wise, along with his “Destroyer’s Destroyer” harvesting tool. Even though the “Destroyer’s Destroyer” bears the description, “The thinking man’s black hole on a stick,” which adds to Renzo’s whole space-faring, extra-dimensional demon motif, the tool itself, which is a glowing blue-magenta axe, looks eerily identical to the Lunar Glow axe which was the harvesting tool for Selene, the entry level battle pass skin for Chapter 4, Season 1.
Renzo’s animated “Destroyer Signature” wrap and his blue-magenta cosmic flare contrail both look great in game however and augment his whole aesthetic quite well.
Although Renzo doesn’t start off with a glider in the Chapter 4, Season 2 Battle Pass, I think the Battle Bloom Umbrella, which was attained by earning a Victory Royale back in Chapter 3, Season 3 matches his color scheme well. You can also use the aforementioned Lunar Glow axe as his harvesting tool if you’re not feeling the Destroyer’s Destroyer. Once you get to the second Battle Pass page for Renzo, you can unlock his Skull-O-Tron glider, which is giant (what else?) flaming skull, and a pretty bad-ass one at that. I really dig the glider animation, with Renzo standing split-stanced atop the Skull-O-Tron like’s he’s commandeering a meteorite.
One more interesting facet of Renzo’s design comes courtesy of his loading screen artwork (art by Afu Chan), which depicts Renzo standing in a hallway surrounded on both sides by glass display cases containing what looks to be duplicates of himself. Are these vessels into which Renzo projects his consciousness when his current cybernetic body has become too battle-damaged or long-lived? Or are they some sort of hivemind? Perhaps more will be revealed about Renzo’s backstory as Fortnite Chapter 4, Season 2 further unfolds.
What did you think of the first skin, Renzo, the Destroyer in the Fortnite Chapter 4, Season 2 battle pass? Do you agree with our thoughts for Renzo, the first entry in our Fortnite Chapter 4, Season 2 battle pass review? Share your thoughts.
I’ll update this article with my thoughts on the second tier of the Renzo, the Destroyer skins, the white-orange Renzo, the Magnificent skin (as well as the trench coat style for him) as soon as as I’m able to unlock it and play with it for a bit in Fortnite Chapter 4, Season 2.
Check out my review for the second skin in the Fortnite Chapter 4, Season 2 Battle Pass: Imani.
Ninja Gaiden was my rite of passage at an early age. After finally beating that game (and narrowly dodging carpal tunnel) I decided to write about my gaming exploits. These days I enjoy roguelikes and anything Pokemon but I'll always dust off Super Mario RPG, Donkey Kong Country and StarFox 64 from time to time to bask in their glory.
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