Fortnite players get to enjoy various updates and continuous changes to the game such as the recently added vending machines, but it’s not always clear where the inspiration for these changes come from. However, that’s not true for the latest costume and glider, which is clearly inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, a foundational figure of the Southern Gothic genre.
Right after data miners discovered that Fortnite would be receiving a mysterious visitor, Epic Games announced that the raven costume was, in fact, available now. The costume clearly resembles the bird in question, with an allure of mystery surrounding the costume’s hood. But if the appearance wasn’t a strong enough connection to Poe’s “The Raven,” then Fortnite’s tweet clearly alludes to the poem.
Check out the costume here:
The tweet, depicted below, announces the latest addition to the game by utilizing a similar rhyme scheme and structure to the aforementioned poem. The GIF that accompanies the tweet also reinforces the gothic undertones. Notably, however, the tweet doesn’t reveal the costume or glider's price, but those that log in to the game will see that the skin carries a 2,000 V-bucks tag.
While this costume’s connection to the supernatural is rather unique, it is not the only Fortnite concept to do so. Recently, a Fortnite fan showed off a personal concept that transformed a player into a werewolf for accumulating kills. Both are impressive, but for now, the Raven costume does show Epic Games willingness to broach the gothic and supernatural for its popular game.
It remains to be seen if this costume maintains popularity within the Fortnite community because it’s pretty hard to beat the recent rock-paper-scissors emote. With all of these recent and awesome additions to the game, it’s no surprise that Fortnite is so big – even bigger than GTA online. Nevertheless, fans of the game can find this Raven Outfit and Feather Flyer Glider in the shop now, and the combination of the two may very well make an impressive "nevermore" aesthetic.
Fortnite is available now for PC, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.