The new Fortnite season called “Fortnite Chapter 4: Season OF” has been a throwback to when Fortnite peaked way back in 2017, bringing back old weapons, old locations, such as Loot Lake, Tilted Towers, Pleasant Park, and much more. The new season brings back the senior players of Fortnite. Still, the more recent generations of Fortnite players are also part of the game, leading to more enjoyable games for the “OG” Fortnite gamers and the newer generation commonly referred to as “sweats,” but why is this update significant for the gaming community?

First, we should talk about the peak of Fortnite and how it changed the gaming industry. In 2017, Fortnite Battle Royale was released with 1 million players. Still, by the end of the year, 30 million players were playing Fortnite. After one year, that figure jumped to 200 million players. Fortnite was at its peak with a new way of playing the game, a free-to-play game with DLC (downloadable content). Over 80 percent of players were buying this DLC, coming in the way of new outfits, pickaxes, back-bling, gliders, and, most importantly, the battle pass. The battle pass was a way to invoke players to continue playing the game, and as they played, they would get rewards. Of course, the higher-tier awards are more challenging to get. Virtually every gaming company later adopted this method. It was a game-changer for the industry. Players loved it, and most of all, the companies loved it. As Frontier slowly declined in popularity, Epic Games knew it could only do one thing: bring back the older generation of gamers and the old map.

The new Fortnite season is a nice nostalgic feeling; it allows me to reminisce over the memories I made before a stressful change, COVID-19, and incomprehensible math concepts. The gaming community has come together as one, gone to its roots, and allowed itself to stop worrying about the most realistic and high-quality experiences that are so popular right now, but instead, went back to an older, more simplistic game. The new season of Fortnite was one of my favorite times, as it allowed me to connect with old friends and new ones through Fortnite. The game is fun and implements new mechanics from the newer generation into the “OG” game. My critique of the new season would be that the newer generation gamers called “sweats” were not as intense and good.

Artist statement:

I reviewed the new Fortnite season; it was a way to have fun with a writing assignment that wouldn’t be so serious and almost relaxing. This review allowed me to reflect on a happy memory I had with friends this year through video games. So many things happened this year that I almost didn’t know what to write about, but something simple and fun would be for the best. This review was fun, and I liked that it was something other than what I had time to do. There wasn’t a quick upcoming deadline but an extended deadline weeks after I heard of it, allowing me to do it bit by bit and feel relaxed.