The OG hype has broken out in Fortnite: Lots of fans are coming back in to let off steam on the old Battle Royale map. MeinMMO author Max Handwerk has also gotten on the nostalgia train and doesn’t actually want to get off.
It was the 0:04 second in the Fortnite OG trailer that finally sealed the fact that I would grab my brother on Friday evening to check out Fortnite again after a long time.
Because in that second, for a brief moment, a huge, chipped sign with the word “Motel” was visible: the spot where we had previously landed countless times to face 98 other players in the fight for epic victory.
We’re including the trailer here:
Fortnite: Chapter 4 Season 5 Gameplay Trailer – Back to OG
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Admittedly, we were never the greatest masters of this game. That’s why we worked out a “route” that would take us past the worst and towards the endgame.
From the motel we went to the “Umbrella” – a small, unnamed spot full of rocks. From there we either sneaked across the golf course towards Wailing Woods or across Loot Lake towards Tilted Towers and Shifty Shafts. Depending on how the storm directed us (and of course if we survived long enough).
Of course there was always a lot of looting along the way. And if we managed to stick with it until the end, the chances weren’t bad that we could secure a win or two. Not the most exciting route on the map, of course – the fiercest duels ultimately take place in the center of the map. But at some point we internalized the route so much that it became “our route”.
Fortnite is constantly changing – and that’s what makes it so special
Over the years, our route became more and more unraveled, map changes and new game elements transformed Fortnite into a new game over and over again. And that’s exactly what makes the game so good in my opinion: Fortnite keeps reinventing itself.
Whether it was Kamehameha-shooting anime characters, UFOs, raptors, flaming bows or lightsabers: with Fortnite you can always be sure that something new awaits you soon. It doesn’t shy away from much change and even shook its own foundations when it introduced “zero build mode” – which was also well received.
This versatility is what makes Fortnite have to hide from hardly any other game. And yet the number of players is currently skyrocketing because instead of moving forward, it simply goes back five steps, or years. And I can understand that well too.
Now the route is back
In any case, on Friday evening we logged in, waited for about a quarter of an hour on hold, got on the battle bus and jumped onto the new, old map.
And there it was again: our route. Our motel. The difficult-to-control shopping carts that were one of Fortnite’s first attempts at vehicles. The powerful rocket launchers, the far too powerful shotgun, the trees that are animated in a very blocky way from today’s perspective.
And of course the strong opponents who were better than us back then and obviously still are. But never mind! At least we made it to third place.
It all feels pretty much the same as it did back then – just combined with the better movement and slicker graphics that later updates brought to Fortnite.
It feels a bit like when you’ve moved and years later you come across your old house or walk around your old neighborhood. There may be a new shop or a fresh coat of paint here and there, but you always have that “Oh yeah, remember…” effect. And it’s just a lot of fun.
Of course, the season only lasts a month, and maybe after a few days you’ll get over the OG feeling again – let’s see. Maybe you’ll look forward to the typical innovations that Fortnite will definitely bring again. But: For now, Fortnite has hit the mark with its leap into the past.
What do you think of the current season? Tell us in the comments!
The season also brought a new battle pass with new versions of old skins – but MeinMMO author Christos Tsogos sees a problem with this.