Pick up and Play: Fortnite Battle Royale
All right, let’s talk about the Battle Royale Genre. More specifically, the new kid on the block, Fortnite Battle Royale. You know, I will give PUBG this, they’ve taken 2017 by storm, creating a groundbreaking game that defines the battle royale genre in a flood of potential copy cats, and with incredible success. Boasting a concurrent player count to rival that of DOTA 2, this slow yet high intense loop of collect and kill, to be the last man standing, is something really only video games can tip over the edge.
But enough of PUBGs success, we’re here to talk about Fortnite’s take on the genre, and let me tell you they are not shy of pointing out the direct inspiration for this genre. However, this game isn’t the clone you’re looking for.
This game takes the ingredients base building, and light cartoon nature of Fortnite, and attempts to bake the cake by following the battle royale recipe pioneered by the infamous Player Unknown, Brenden Greene. What comes out of the oven is this more lighthearted, yet still tense, approach to the formula. Where as PUBG is more focused portrayal of realism, Fortnite is a cartoonish take that lends itself to more comical mechanics.
And it’s that clash of comedy and fear where Fortnite BR kind of comes into its own. Instead of a cargo plane filled with peaking microphones blasting smash mouth, it’s a party bus with a janky, yet charming tune. The game plays out similar, but the map is much smaller, so even if you land in the edges of the island, you’ll run into people much faster.
The gunplay abruptly splits the way this game plays compared to the competition. Fortnite’s weapons have definite tiers, although I’m not convinced a rare is that much better than an epic. Instead of a hit-scan or fast projectile model, every weapon has a noticeable amount of travel time, but the range can be inconsistent. If you can aim well, even a basic M4 can cross map a fool stacked on armor and health potions. Fortnite does make the effort to have each tier have various levels of bloom (aka weapon spread), but it’s inconsistent at times, and can even cause some basic weapons to shine above the rest. The common burst rifle. A 3 shot pull, that maintains its low bloom on initial pull, before exploding out.
Fortnite really comes into it’s own with the building mechanics. There are four material types as far as I can gather. Each has varying levels of durability, and can have some interesting mechanics in terms of late game. And players have been very creative. From propping up fortified sniper nests near the final point, to creating the infamous “stairway to heaven” strategy to go big or go home. I’ve seen it all. The dynamic flanking cover to get to the next tree. Someone build a maze to bait a player to a closed chest filled with loot, only to shoot the player as he got closer. A metal tunnel to get “safely” in and out of loot lake. It’s wild, and letting your imagination run free opens up a ton of strategies for late game shenanigans.
I like Fortnite Battle Royale. It doesn’t jack up my heart rate. It’s more arcade nature, from the world design and overall aesthetic, to the gunplay and innate game mechanics, offer something more lighthearted that PUBGs grounded realism. It’s also free, for PC, PS4 and Xbox. Boasting one million player count at the time of launch, the game has the potential to be a great choice to those interested in the genre. With the introduction of squads (which boosts the wackiness by a factor of 4), and more on the way such as supply drops and leaderboards, it definitely has a ton of room to grow. I have a feeling that this will also drive initial sales and player engagement of Fortnite’s base game, exposing players to what makes Fortnite pretty special in the first place. It’s definitely worth checking out for a few rounds, and if you got some friends to squad up with, well hey: there is always room on the battle bus.
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