Fortnite – Save the World

Fortnite has been on the lips of the public for quite a while now. With a massive success from their Battle Royale mode, it has taken the world by storm.

What seems to be forgotten, is the fact the Fortnite isn’t actually just a Battle Royale game. In fact the Battle Royale mode seemingly came out as a last-ditch effort to keep the main game afloat.

I don’t know the numbers, but my understanding is that “Fortnite” sold ok, but interest waned pretty quickly. So people hadn’t really given it much time or coverage.

I’ll be honest, upon release, I was puzzled by what it actually was, and reviews/gameplay videos didn’t really help sell it. Battle Royale mode came along, made Fortnite a household name and the rest is kind of history at this point.

Since the Battle Royale mode came out, my interest was piqued with regards to the main game. However knowing it wasn’t exactly a AAA title, I struggled to justify the £40 price tag to myself (more if you tried to buy it digitally). So it waned, I moved on.

Word on the street has been that it’s going to be a “Free to Play” game in 2018. So I’ve held off. Checking the purchase price from time to time, only to see that it’s gotten extortionate on Amazon and eBay (£150+!!!). It’s been a no-go, no matter how often I checked over the past couple of months.

Getting stuck-in

So, with a 50%-off sale on the main game, as part of the birthday celebrations of the game.  It was time to dive in.  Thanks to Jacob for going halves!

My expectations were minimal, because I had no real idea what the game was actually about, so I wasn’t expecting to be particularly disappointed.  What I didn’t think would happen though, is that I’d find myself having some genuine fun!

Lost and confused

Diving right in is basically the only way to go.  I was talking to a robot, being guided through some preliminary tutorials, crafting ammo (did not expect that!), building the basic bits that I’ve done in Battle Royale, and then being taken to some post-mission screens, and menus.

Holy crap is this game intricate.

That’s no bad thing, not at all, and the bulk of it is drip-fed to you in mostly manageable chunks, but jeez, there’s a lot going on here.

Survivors, schematics, heroes, missions, llamas, research, xp.  There’s so much to take in.  All of which takes place out-of-mission.

I’ll be honest it took a while to get to grips with what was going on.  Regardless of my level of understanding, though. I was having fun, like having a total blast.

The colourful, vibrant world, the ease of building and crafting, the satisfying killing of hoardes and hoardes of zombie-like enemies and the seamless online co-op with strangers.  I never felt lost or incapable.  Sure, sometimes I wasn’t listening to what I should be doing, but it wasn’t through the fault of the game.

Every day is a school day

Building is seen as one of the fundamental differences of the battle royale mode, particularly when it comes to comparison with the other big players in the market.

What I didn’t realise, was just how intricate it can be.  I had no clue about doors in walls, or window spaces, or building low-walls.  Building pyramids and half-floors with hand rails.  The building is bloody excellent. Very simple, easy to execute and satisfying to see finished.

I thought it was just walls, floors, ramps and roofing.  I had no idea you could manipulate each element for more interesting building.  The concept of the free-build mode was kind of lost on me.  Seeing these massive buildings made me think that there were maybe some new free-build mode-only changes to building, but nope, it’s all standard!

Complete joy to build a safe block and then just put a door in to get back out, or to add layers of upstairs flooring and balconies, and to use stairways that look more like stairs than ramps.

Looter shooter?

So I’ve been getting to grips with things and playing daily where I can.  Getting daily login rewards, as is standard for so many games these days.  The carrot at the end of the “play me daily” stick. I had an inclination that it would be loot-driven, based on the V-bucks economy of battle royale (note that you can actually earn V-bucks in save the world!).

I’ve been getting chests, based on my in-round achievements, and loot llamas for achieving tasks.

Honestly, I’m knee-deep in weapon and trap schematics.  I never have the resources I need, but I’m going to one day!  Constantly being showered in new stuff is great, and I don’t feel like I’m grinding in any way.

Story

In Fortnite Save the World, we’re re-building civilization after “the storm” turned everyone into zombies.  Picking up survivors as we go. 

Storm bases are the persistent, so whatever you build stays there.  Right now, I have a ropey-looking base.  But that’s fine, it was my first crack and I had no idea what I was doing.  I gather there are more to build later on.

As such, I’m moving along, learning the game, helping out internet strangers, meeting new in-game characters and building up my defenses.  Creating bigger and better storm-shields so my bases can hold more people.

The in-game clips are nice looking and the characters are fine.  It’s cartoon-y and it’s fun.

So far

I’m not so far in yet that I could determine how good it really is.  So far it’s calm chaos, and a really nice game to dip in and out of. 

It has the crafting elements of No Man’s Sky and Minecraft, albeit a lot simpler, with the fun of shooting hoardes of zombies and playing with others online.

So far, so good.  Well worth a punt.

Lets see how another few hours looks.  No doubt I’ll have unlocked loads of new stuff, and started to get half-decent at building.

Not going to rate it yet, but if you’ve been on the fence about it, it’s worth having a play. Minimal fuss, no drama or sense of urgency. Micro-management is minimal and mostly enjoyable.

Turn your brain off, shoot some zombies, build some stuff.  Good times!  It’s not what Fortnite is known for, and that’s a shame, because it’s pretty decent.