First Impressions: Fortnite (NS)

Disclaimer:  This article was written prior to the Season 5 release of Fortnite Battle Royale so any changes to the game, performance issues, my kill count only reflect the amount of time that I put into the final handful of weeks in Season 4.

By now, most of the known gaming world has either played Fortnite, or at least is aware of the Battle Royale style of games that mimic the Japanese novel (and movie) of the same name where a group of people are deposited on an island and are encouraged to kill everyone else using a variety of weapons and be the last one standing.  Fortnite Battle Royale has the added bonus of being able to magically build structures, or parts of structures as a key component to staying alive and taking out your competition.

I on the other hand have a completely different tactic for staying alive.  And that is staying away from people for as long as possible.

There's something very satisfying about being kicked off the bus 30 seconds after the first people jump on their own, then slowly falling towards the island watching the kill feed tick by as other players are picked off one-by-one.  Then when you finally land away from any moving dots on the island, you see that nearly 30 people have already died before you find your first weapon or take your first swing of the pickaxe.  But please do not think that I am trying for a passive no-kill run, I have just found that I tend to live longer (thereby being able to play longer) by avoiding people.

I'll let you guess as to whether or not I was the last one standing.*

I am also not a big fan of building even though I have my control scheme set for building efficiency.  I realize that you are essentially building yourself a fort makes it slightly more difficult for your opponents to hit you, but here is where my warped sense of gaming comes in.  Because one of the key rules in Fortnite is that the map shrinks down every two minutes or so, there is a good chance that the fort/tower you built has not only given away your location, but will soon be in the area that is no longer playable.  And collecting building materials can be so noisy, especially if you're trying to be sneaky.  So you are forced to move into the circle with the rest of the surviving players.  Which is why in the picture above, you see me crouching in a bush.

This tactic ended up not working because no one else came into the house.  So maybe it did work after all?

Most of the time I will only notice other players as they are running across the island, which is then my cue to run in another direction.  Granted there have been a handful of times that I have actively engaged people by shooting at them, but only if I am far enough away and can get away without being killed, or if I find myself in a building with another person, then I will camp out in a bathroom or stairwell with a shotgun trained on the door.

Of all of the available modes of play on the Nintendo Switch version, I usually stick to Solo, but I will occasionally dip into Squads, and very rarely will I play 50 vs. 50, which in my style of play, I have a higher chance of winning as I am less likely to die than people who actively engage in combat.

To date, I have a grand total of 8 kills after having played for about 10 hours.  So 1 kill every hour and fifteen minutes. . .not too bad?  Maybe?

Am I playing the game wrong?  I don't think so, since as part of the games leveling system there are challenges that include goals such as staying alive longer than other squads in Squad Play, or unlocking 6 chests in Snobby Shoals (or whatever that outcropping of four houses along the western coast is called).  Challenges that do not focus on killing are where the majority of my experience points come from.

In the end, I find Fortnite as a fun escape from heavier story driven games like Battle Chasers, Skyrim, and Thimbleweed Park.  I like being able to jump into a handful of games and basically seeing how long I can survive, all in less than 30 minutes.  It is really a fun game, except that I am not taking it as seriously as some people, but for me personally, I think that is the key.  If I felt that I needed to be good at the game and had to jump off the bus in the first five seconds in score some sweet lootz and kill some n00bs, I feel that would take away a lot of what I find fun in the game.

In this game, two teams were fighting it out on the cliff above me.  I did end up dying, but it was to the one person who ended up winning the match, so I felt a bit better.

And hey, Season 5 just started last week (currently in Week 2), which has brought a new map, golf carts, motion controls on the Switch and a new trove of things to earn if I were to throw down the $9.99 for a season's Battle Pass. . .

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Cause We Wanna Live for the Life

*I was not.  I died from a rocket to the general vicinity of my person.

P.S.  I will probably write a First Impressions Part II in the coming weeks, having experienced more of the game than when I first wrote this.