Fortnite is absolutely wild. I'm standing in Spawn Island as Naruto, waiting to begin my first proper Battle Royale session. Accompanied by my sibling who's using the Kakashi Hatake skin to complement mine, I take a moment to soak in the absurdity that surrounds me. Another player is running around with a giant hammer as Goku from Dragon Ball Z, while Daryl from The Walking Dead stands a short distance away. Then, as I parachute down from the Battle Bus and pick up some weapons, I see Naruto on my screen wielding a rifle. In all honesty, I can't believe this is actually happening – it's like I'm in some weird fever dream and I know I'm far from alone in thinking that.
But this is exactly why I'm here. I mean, how often can you run around in a competitive multiplayer game as Han Solo while your teammate covers your back as a giant banana wearing a weathered sunhat and swimming trunks? After missing out on some crossovers that introduced a host of iconic characters from the world of anime, movies, and more earlier in the year, the return of the Naruto skins convinced me to finally, and enthusiastically, step into the world of Fortnite in the year of 2022… and it's already taken me on quite the ride.
Naruto run
Get the lowdown on the new Fortnite Augments and how to activate them in the battle royale.
Generally speaking, I tend to avoid competitive online games. In fact, the one and only time I dipped into a battle royale round in Fortnite was to take part in a challenge for GamesRadar+ a few years ago, and I was a total fraidy cat about it all. I can't say I've suddenly found some confidence in that regard, but after seeing so many characters I love find their way onto the Fortnite map, my desire to mess around as Naruto or Han Solo won out over any apprehensions I may have had.
Thanks to the many crossovers that have landed in the game over the years, Fortnite really has become a ludicrous multiverse of its own making, and I'm already enjoying my first proper taste of it. My initial battle royale session sees me driving a car around as Naruto just moments in, which is somehow so hilarious in itself. Then, just minutes later, I'm fishing in a small lake while Kakashi guards my back. Honestly, how is this real? I know this is surely old news for long-time players, but I never tire of seeing well-known characters and famous figures in the cartoon world of Fortnite – albeit from afar before now.
Unfortunately for me, I end up becoming the target of a bounty during my first foray. As a newbie, I'm already on edge to begin with, but when this information is relayed to me by my sibling, I'm immediately on high alert. As an absolute beginner who's being led by a more experienced and advanced player, I already know I don't have much of a chance of surviving against any players on the hunt.
Still, in spite of the bounty making my first round a bit more tense than I'd hoped for, I decide to enjoy myself as much as possible before other players inevitably show up to catch their quarry. Dancing my way across portions of the map (and reveling at the sight of Naruto performing Ride the Pony), I do what I can to learn the ins and outs of play while taking in the sights of the island. In the end, we manage to make it to the final 15 before I ultimately meet my demise, but the first session feels like the perfect warm up for another shot.
"I'm Han Solo"
Prior to diving into the Battle Royale experience a second time, I take some time out to play around in some custom maps within Fortnite Creative, to better familiarize myself with the game's weapons and movements. I jump into The Pit, a map that lets you mess about with Fornite's arsenal in a, well, pit. Not unlike the battle royale session, the hilarity of having a face-off with my sibling as different well-known characters – such as Naruto vs Jinx from League of Legends – never gets old. The whole experience also opened me up to the fun of the Creative mode, and I'm already keen to try out some other custom maps.
With just a little more experience under my belt than before, I'm once again parachuting down on The Island for another Battle Royale session. This time around, I'm everybody's favorite Star Wars smuggler, Han Solo, and I'm joined by Fortnite's very own Peely (with a summer skin) in search of a Victory Royale. Move over, Chewbacca – we've got a new iconic duo here. Han and the banana make quite the pairing, and as I stare at two characters teamed up in the lobby, I'm once again reminded of why it is that I'm here in the first place.
I may not be the best Fortnite player in the world, and I may not have earned a victory just yet, but in all honesty, I don't really care about all that. They might just be cosmetic skins, but the addition of familiar faces like Naruto, Goku, Rick and Morty, and so many more, just makes everything here so entertaining and downright fun. I can't wait to see what other characters pop up in the future as the seasons progress, and I don't think I'll ever quite get over the preposterous crossovers you can pair up together in the world of Fortnite.
If you want to know what has been updated in the battle royale, check out the Fortnite new weapons including those returning from the vault.
