With the release of Fortnite’s latest “Chapter 5, Season 1” update, newly introduced mechanics, elements and game modes have made players reluctant to turn off the game.
Junior Rithwick Lakshmanan, an avid player of Fortnite, has already spent nearly fifteen hours experimenting with the game’s features. “I love this season! Even after the many years since the release, Fortnite always finds a way to keep the player hooked.” Lakshman expressed.
Fortnite’s new mechanics include mantling on walls, a slower walking speed and the ability to move while consuming shields and meds.
But the biggest and most prominent additions to the game are the two new game modes.
Fortnite collaborated with the creators of Lego to create a Minecraft-style survival-crafting game mode and also released a car-racing game mode inspired by the game Rocket League. Epic Games, the owner of Fortnite, bought the company that created Rocket League.
Fortnite has also partnered with companies in the entertainment industry. In particular, Fortnite has skins for almost all Marvel and DC superheroes and villains.
In the battle royale mode of this season, Fortnite, once again, partnered up with Disney, the company that produces Family Guy, a show noted for its “world-class voicework and inventive animation.” Peter Griffin, a character in the show, can be seen as an Non-Playable Character (NPC) that holds a medallion, an item definitely worth getting when playing the battle royale game mode.
Freshman Shuban Nanisetty, a gamer who has been playing Fortnite since Chapter 1 Season 1, has been enjoying the new game modes. “Fortnite is always diversifying itself in its new updates, and this is what makes this game so enjoyable because my friends and I can have fun just trying to understand what are the new features,” Nanishetty stated.
Similar to Nanisetty, millions of players across the world have expressed positive responses to the new modes. In fact, with the new release of Chapter 5 season 1, Fortnite hit an impressive peak player count of 2.45 million players.
This new record is attributable to a multitude of reasons. When Fortnite brings in characters from other universes, it twists the plot of the game. This intrigues content creators, who hype up the game on social media platforms, bringing viewers in to try the game. With a variety of genres and universes, the game overlaps communities and brings in new players.
Sophomore Vrayas Pila, a player who is a huge fan of Minecraft and Legos, is loving the new season. “I always found [Fortnite’s] battle royale mode boring and infuriating, especially with the extremely competitive players in the game, but with the new Lego update, I’ve never had more fun,” Pila exclaimed.
Fortnite is one of the only notable games that collaborates with other companies like this. And surely, Fortnite’s immense success may prove to the gaming industry the benefits of well-thought collaborations.
