Fortnite is not only known as a battle royale behemoth or a creative hotspot for streamers, but it turns out to be 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. The plot has been holding the audience for quite a while, but on the other hand, it has also bewildered a lot of them. How slowly it has gone from a potential mythological background to an eloquent and amusing yet annoying unraveling.
Just in 2019, the Fortnite universe was brimming with possibilities. The end of Chapter 1 was not only an event that marked the pause of the Fortnite saga, but also disconnected the sky due to the explosion of the meteor and the mysterious fall into darkness. These events were something from the global culture to which even people who were not into the gaming community could not help but get attracted. Those who witnessed the island’s death happening live were given a sense of participation, and it looked like Epic Games was flourishing in a universe with recurring characters and some degree of continuity.
But that promise gradually disappeared with the times. The plot of Fortnite has been really inconsistent throughout, but in the latest developments, the lack of a clear direction is very evident. Sometimes the story is used to lead the action, for example, in Chapter 3: Season 2, the resistance theme was very dominant and centrally located. At some other moments, it is so much in the background that it is hardly noticeable; this is, for instance, in Chapter 3: Season 3, where the story barely makes any sense. 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.
At one point, things got even more complicated when Fortnite started telling its story in a different way through comics. The Zero Point and Zero War series, created with the help of Marvel and DC, revealed some of the game’s hidden secrets, such as the secrets of secret bunkers and final 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 totally clueless, and a big number of them had to resort to YouTube lore explainers for updates. That shift from in-game to different media storytelling had the story feeling fragmented, and the fans who were unaware of the happenings were left in the dark.
The crossovers, at first, may have seemed to be a part of the confusion, but now they are an integral part of the whole story. It is very interesting to watch Spider-Man or Batman coming onto the island. These relationships sometimes can fit the lore the right way. On the other hand, most of the time, they are just blending. The Seven, a once-mysterious and compelling group, had a little bit of charm left after The Foundation turned out to be based on and voiced by Dwayne Johnson. Now, the distinction between Fortnite’s world and the world of celebrity became ambiguous and weird. Moreover, if you add Ariana Grande skins, LeBron James skins, or The Rock skins as Black Adam to the mix, then it becomes very apparent that the universe is not seamlessly connected. It is a completely different thing that actors can be the voices of characters and that they can be the characters themselves, literally.
Moreover, there are also retcons. At one time, fans constantly imagined that The Paradigm and The Singularity were the same, as they had similar-looking designs and they were the same characters, just different interpretations. But later, the Zero War comics decided to depict them as separate characters, which in turn discredited fan theories. Retcons of this kind make it very challenging for even the most hardcore lore enthusiasts to ever figure out what canon is.
Repetition is another problem that has been raised. Fortnite’s story loop has become stuck in a predictable cycle: something threatens the island, the map shifts, and the heroes band together to prevent it. Large trailers build up each new season, but beneath the surface, the formula doesn’t ever really change. For long-time fans, it’s beginning to feel like déjà vu.
It doesn’t mean that Fortnite’s narrative is dead. The universe has infinite possibilities, and the people surely desire a greater investment in the lore. But until Epic Games manages to integrate these narratives into something cohesive and significant, the story will continue to feel more like a patchwork and less like an epic. Currently, the lore is as elusive and as infuriating as ever.