Fortnite includes two different modes, “Save the World” and “Battle Royale”.

Save the world is considered by its developer, Epic, to be a mixture between the two legendary games, Minecraft and Left 4 dead. Up to 4 players cooperate to survive against zombie-like creatures, creating forts, setting traps, collecting weapons and protecting survivors. This game mode is currently available to purchase in early access from $32.99 and will be released sometime soon in 2018 for free (so it is worth waiting!)

Battle Royale, however, is available now, free for all players! This makes the decision to download it very easy. The response all over the world is a mixed one, some players love the game and some hate it. It is useful to watch or read tutorials/reviews before playing this game as it is more complicated than a simple “shoot em up” game. This review focuses on this game mode.

Fortnite was only released in 2017, yet it is proving immensely popular. Around 40 million people are playing it around the world, and most gaming sites are talking about it. Personally, I/we really enjoy playing it!

Fortnite Gameplay Trailer

Storyline

In the Battle Royale game mode, there is not much backstory, and you are quite literally dropped straight into gameplay. There are 3 options to choose how you will play;

• Solo – Play alone against all other plays (Free for all)
• Duo – Play with a buddy
• Squad – Play with 3-4 other players

Your character is currently randomly selected as you enter the game, and starts in a pre-game lobby where you will wait for 100 players to join from all around the world. In the lobby, you can practice building and shooting but this gains no experience and does not damage other players, it is purely a practice.

Your character arrives in a flying bus, and this is where you can look at the map and decide where you will land.

You can deploy your glider at any time, which will make you glide slowly through the air rather than drop quickly.

Some gamers like to speed this process up and dive as fast as possible, so that loot is easier to find, while others remain in the air for longer so they are away from the action and do not get killed as quickly.

Different players have different strategies and that is very important in this game.

When you get a certain distance away from the ground, your glider will deploy automatically, so don’t worry, you can’t die by accidentally falling at this point.

You can travel to big cities or small countryside sheds, the decision for this should be made entirely by personal preference and skill set. If you’re not so familiar with the game it is recommended you find somewhere remote as you’re less likely to meet experienced players who will very easily shoot you down.

The first necessity is to scavenge for weapons and materials. You start with a pickaxe by default, and you can “mine” materials such as wood, stone, and metal. These become useful later in the game as you will be able to make forts and structures with them. Guns, traps, and potions are placed around the map and color-coded for rarity.

You now have two options; hide or fight. While players are doing this, a storm engulfs parts of the map and you must stay within the eye of the storm to avoid dying. Your health will slowly deteriorate, so this gives you the chance to run quickly to safety, however, if you stay in the storm for too long you will die.

The eye of the storm grows smaller and smaller until two players are left fighting to survive in a very small radius. Battles between two players can become very intense and exciting, especially if it is to win the match. You can quickly build walls and forts to stop enemy gunfire, you need to have a tactical and fast approach.

Gameplay

Gameplay is currently still being developed. How it stands now, however, It’s very smooth and easy to pick up. It works like most 3rd person shooting games, you can aim and fire, your character can sprint and jump, hold up to 6 items and has health and shield bars.

Picking up objects is as easy as running over them, or certain things such as guns requires you to press a button. It takes a little time to get used to operating the fort building mode, and we recommend you figure this out before jumping into a city.

Building a fort is easy and fun, you can build with wood, bricks or metal and can modify a structure you’ve already built.

Firing and shooting can be quite difficult, it sometimes feels a little bit inaccurate, making it harder to play. It seems strategy works better than running in spraying your gun.

There are also options to purchase more in-game. A “battle pass” will cost you 950V bucks, (roughly $8) and you’ll get some cool cosmetic loot and can earn more stuff when you level up. This is entirely optional and you can have just as much fun and chance of winning without spending a penny.

Visuals

It is clear that this game wasn’t created for the graphics. Although it looks sleek and smooth, and characters are aesthetically pleasing, the overall visuals are more “ps2”. But it works, gameplay is so immersive and exciting that it doesn’t matter, and there are no distractions from playing the game.

Characters are cartoon-like and as there is very little violence it is suitable for a younger audience and has earned its certificate of 13+.

The look and feel of the environment can probably be compared to “World of Warcraft”. It isn’t very realistic, but definitely polished and doesn’t affect gameplay, again it probably emphasizes it.

Is It Worth It?

So, is fortnite worth it?

YES. It’s free. You have nothing to lose.

Is fortnite worth investing your time into?

YES. Its a lot of fun, you can join squads for a social aspect and something a little different.

Is the battle pass worth it?

Honestly? No. You get little quirks, like more experience, a different outfit and other bits and bobs. But really these offer little benefit. If you’re serious about fortnite and enjoy playing daily it may be of interest to you, otherwise, the free version is just as much fun!

The only negative is that there is only currently one map available to play, so after a few days, it gets a little repetitive. But I am sure that there will be more maps available in the near future, and the “save the world” mode will also be available for free very soon!

Download it today and try it for yourself!