Fortnite is one of the most popular Battle Royale games in the world. After about 6 months of active play, our editor Sonja has been able to form an opinion about it.
Fortnite is a Battle Royale game that almost everyone has probably heard of. And whether you hate the game or not, it has to be said that it’s been around for a while now and is still hype. I wanted to find out what that’s because of and if it’s really mainly for 12 year olds.
Unbeatable success
I also played the game at release in 2017, when Battle Royale games were just going through the roof thanks to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Basically, there was nothing wrong with the game except that I didn’t like the building mechanics. Like many others, I thought that this was just another Battle Royale adaptation and that the game would eventually die off with the hype. But I was proven wrong.
Today, Fortnite is not only still alive, but has over 400 million registered users, regular collaborations with big names like Riot Games, and a fan base that’s hard to imagine the gaming scene without. Epic Games must be doing something right, because the original short hype is still going strong five years later.
I couldn’t quite explain it to myself, as I didn’t really have a clue about what was happening around Fortnite right now either. But since, as we all know, trying is better than studying (and there was still a bit of a knowledge gap about the game here in the editorial department), I downloaded Fortnite and started my first round in years.
short Freebuild… fortnite competitive free build short pic. twitter.com/gkjrM6LLXe
– Khir0 (@revozz_15) July 29, 2022
A Battle Royale like any other?
The principles were still familiar to me – loot, stay in the zone, be the last to survive. And then there was the building thing. There didn’t seem to be much more left of the game I knew from 2017, because none of the weapons, locations and items looked familiar. But that, of course, still makes the game easy to play.
My first rounds were not bad in themselves. I immediately noticed that aiming in Fortnite was much easier than in games like VALORANT or similar and therefore had great fun killing enemies.
The myth that real Fortnite players can build an entire castle within seconds also quickly proved to be true. And admittedly, I really enjoyed Fortnite after the first two or three rounds, whether with friends or alone.
Constantly changing
After a few days in which I was unable to play Fortnite due to time constraints, I was shocked to discover that the game had changed. New items, new weapons – and my favourite weapon had been removed. I was confused, but didn’t think too much of it. Until the whole thing happened again after some time.
Fortnite regularly offers its players new content, but also takes the old content away again and again. It’s a bit unusual when you compare it to games like Warzone or Apex Legends, especially since the changing cycles usually only last a few weeks (and sometimes only a few days) until something new is added. However, this is probably the reason why Fortnite is able to keep so many users and more are still coming.
The game is constantly evolving and responding to people’s wishes. When the zero build mode was added to the Battle Royale, there were some negative voices, but so many new players joined during that time that Fortnite decided to keep it permanently.
This is Fortnite pic.twitter.com/HhzBCWFbML
– iFireMonkey (@iFireMonkey) June 26, 2022
The best cooperations, but a disadvantage!
Also, the collaborations you see regularly in Fortnite are unbeatable. From John Cena to Naruto to Spider-Man, there’s a huge selection of skins here. And these also just keep fitting incredibly well into the game. Epic Games has created something here that other games can only dream of – or could you seriously imagine an anime skin in Battlefield or an Avengers skin in League of Legends?
This way, Battle Royale not only makes profits, but entertains people at the same time, for example with matching in-game items like the Spider-Man gloves or the laser swords.
When you think about it, it almost seems natural that Fortnite is so successful. A lot of time and work is put into a game, which is really noticeable as a user. At the latest here, I was convinced that Fortnite is not simply a kids’ game – even if you meet an unusually large number of minors here.
But as great as that sounds, the game also has a disadvantage. If I haven’t played for a week, Fortnite feels strange to me. Especially when there’s a new map or a new item, I have to find my way around again. Sure, it doesn’t happen every time, but it happens unusually often. If you don’t play the game every day, you almost can’t keep up with all the updates and new features.
But all in all, I have to say that I’m happy to put up with this negative point. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so entertained by a game and I really didn’t expect how versatile and varied Fortnite is. This game has won me a fan, even though I was so sceptical at the beginning. And when you consider that it’s free, I would recommend it again and again.
