Besides being a huge battle royale and a favorite streamer spot, Fortnite turns out to be quite a narrative-driven game as well. If the storyline had satisfied your curiosity about the island’s latest happenings, then you would be one among many. While the plot has been there for a long time, it has also confused a large number of people. What a slow transition it has been from a possible mythological background to a clear and humorous but still irritating revelation.
The year 2019 saw the Fortnite world full of potential. Not only was the end of Chapter 1 an event that paused the Fortnite saga, but it also resulted in the cleavage of the sky caused by the meteor explosion and the enigmatic fall into the darkness. These were the kind of events that referred to the global culture, and even people who were not part of the gaming community could not resist the attraction. Those who saw the death of the island happening live got the feeling of being part of it, and it looked like Epic Games was prospering in a universe with recurring characters and some level of continuity.
However, that promise slowly faded away over time. The storyline of Fortnite has been quite a roller-coaster throughout, but the latest episodes show a very obvious lack of a clear direction. At times, the story is employed to guide the spectacle, e.g., the resistance theme was strongly emphasized and at the center of the scene in Chapter 3: Season 2. There are moments, however, when it is so deeply hidden that it is almost impossible to make out; this is an example of Chapter 3: Season 3, where the plot is barely understandable. The change in the mood can be quite sudden. In one season, you may be fighting a reality devouring chrome entity, and the next, you may be hanging out with summer parties. For players who are into the lore and want it to be consistent and evolving, this inconsistency can be frustrating.
Things became so convoluted at one point that only through comics did Fortnite dare to expose its new tale. The Zero Point and Zero War series, which were made with the help of Marvel and DC, unveiled the behind-the-scenes of the game, such as secrets to secret bunkers and the last parts of massive live events. The irony? Not everyone got to experience them. Those who didn’t buy the comics or couldn’t get them in their country were completely in the dark, and a large number of them had to turn to YouTube lore explainers for the updates. The transition from in-game to different media storytelling made the story sound disjointed, and those fans who were not aware of the happenings were left in the dark.
Initially, the crossovers might have been a part of the jumble, but presently they are the main characters of the entire tale. It is a wonderful sight to see Spider-Man or Batman landing on the island. Sometimes these bonds can be the right fit for the lore. Whereas most of the time, they are just blending. The Seven, a mysterious and intriguing group that once had a little bit of charm left after it was revealed that The Foundation was based on and voiced by Dwayne Johnson. Now, the demarcation between Fortnite’s world and the celebrity universe has become unclear and weird. Besides that, if you mix Ariana Grande skins, LeBron James skins, or The Rock skins as Black Adam, it gets very obvious that the universe is not seamlessly connected. Just a completely different thing that actors can be the voices of characters and that they can be the characters themselves, literally.
Besides that, there are also retcons. Fans once constantly thought that The Paradigm and The Singularity were the same, as they looked similar and they were the same characters, only with different interpretations. However, later, the Zero War comics chose to show them as two different characters, thereby discrediting the fan theories. Such retcons make it extremely difficult even for the most loyal lore enthusiasts to understand which is the real canon.
Repetition is another issue that has been brought up. The Fortnite story loop has been caught in a predictable cycle of repeating itself: the island is threatened, the map changes, and the heroes unite to stop it. There are huge trailers for each new season, but the formula doesn’t really change underneath. For those who have been fans for a long time, it is starting to feel like déjà vu.
It doesn’t mean that Fortnite’s narrative no longer exists. The first limitation is the universe that has infinite possibilities, but on the other hand, the people acknowledge and surely desire a greater investment in the lore. However, till Epic Games can bring together these stories into one meaningful and coherent whole, the narrative will keep on seeming to be more like a patchwork than an epic. At present, the lore is as elusive and as infuriating as ever.