That’s one of the reasons why you may be looking for other games like Fortnite. There’s another simpler reason: are you bored? You may be looking for that arena PvP experience outside Fortnite, so a game with a different tone or mechanics would suit your tastes.There’re huge competitors out there in the battle royale shooter genre. So, you’re set to find something else out there you like. That “cool” factor is the element we’re keeping in mind.
Selecting Games Like Fortnite
Many games have learned from Fortnite or inspired the Epic Games hit-piece. Selecting games like Fortnite needed us to identify the battle royale elements. Then, our choices blend some of the following aspects while adding others of their own.
Free-to-play: most people would put the price as the stellar element in Fortnite. It’s free, and you can enjoy its full features without spending a single dime. Battle Royale arena shooter: the next core element is its battle royale formula. It puts up to 100 players in a large arena, fighting against each other. The arena also shrinks as time goes on via gas, toxins, and similar, which means the final battles happen in smaller areas. Also, players parachute down to the maps (often islands). Loot: there’s also plenty of loot in the arenas. Players pick up weapons, ammo, armor, and other tools to fight against the enemies. Some sets are hidden all over the arena.Building: Fortnite players have learned building on the fly is paramount. Players can build walls, roofs, ramps, and doors in battle. More importantly, enemy players can destroy anything you build. Co-op campaign: most people don’t know Fortnite also has a single campaign, “Save the World.” It’s a PvE co-op (or single) experience for loot, experience, fun, and zombie-killing. Seasonal updates: Fortnite developers keep the game thriving with constant updates. They add new maps, game modes, apparel, weapons, armor, skills, and more.Light recoil: Fortnite has a recoil system known as “Bloom.” It means your shots can land anywhere within your crosshair’s area; the crosshair grows as you shoot. It’s definitely an easier system compared to games like Escape from Tarkov. Cosmetics: one of the biggest draws in Fortnite is its wide range of cosmetics. You may get them free by adding XP on your Battle Pass or as loot. Or you may buy them. Either way, they make you craft a unique aesthetic to stand from the rest of the crowd.Cartoony style: lastly. Fortnite has a consistent casual and light-hearted style. It uses cartoony graphics that blend with its dances, costumes, and features.
These elements come together with Fortnite’s constant references to pop culture. Its updates tend to add costumes and skills from video-game characters like Lara Croft, Marvel heroes like the Guardians of the Galaxy, or DC vigilantes like Batman.
Call of Duty Warzone
Warzone is the obvious choice, so we had to open our list with the game if only to convince you. The CoD Battle Royale is also free-to-play, and micro-transactions can only buy apparel. All of its features are available for players without spending extra.That’s great news, as Warzone is jam-packed with game modes. Its main arenas support up to 200 players, and you can join with a particular loadout as part of a squad. Also, like Fortnite, the map decreases its size over time.The one element that sets it apart from competitors is the Gulag. When you die, you wake up in prison, and you have to win a 1v1 battle against a deceased enemy soldier to earn your respawn. Elsewhere, there’s loot, weapon crates, armor, grenades, and everything you’d need for a fast paced-combat.Also, developers support the game with seasonal updates and multiple game modes. For example, the recent launch of CoD: Vanguard changed the Warzone maps to approach a WWII experience.
Garena Free Fire
Our next choice is Garena Free Fire because it’s a mobile-only battle royale game. It’s the best option for those looking for alternatives after Fortnite left the iOS ecosystem.Free Fire is one of the most popular games for mobile devices. It has about 80 million active players on either platform, and it has made over 1$ billion globally. It’s no joke, but it is free.This is an only-only battle royale with action-adventure elements. You play in third person in a match with up to 50 players. As Fortnite, you parachute into an island for equipment and enemies. Players can also choose their starting position and supplies.As the genre dictates, the ultimate goal is to remain the sole survivor of the island. It means eliminating or surviving all other opponents. To achieve your goals, you need to gather plenty of medical supplies and reach safe areas as the map decreases its size.
Call of Duty: Mobile
Because we chose Garena Free Fire, we must also pick CoD: Mobile on our games like Fortnite list. It’s yet another mobile shooter with massive success and a massive player base.As Fortnite, CoD: Mobile is a battle royale that supports 100 players per match. Players can play along or on teams with up to four players. Moreover, players can choose a special ability.As you see, the title takes elements from various games in the multiplayer shooter genre. However, it keeps the defining Battle Royale feature: the map shrinks over time. And, as you’d expect, it has other game modes with varying numbers of players.The game adds other minor novelties that are distinct from its competitors. For example, players start only with a knife and must fight their way for better loot. Another novelty is how each team has a random leader, and the leader decides when to parachute down to the map.
Apex Legends
Apex Legends is currently the top-seller free game on Steam. I know, that sounds like a contradiction. It means it’s the free-to-play title that makes the most money on micro-transactions.Taking that aside, Apex Legends is a Titanfall 2 spin-off by Respawn. It uses characters and places from the older sci-fi games. Sadly, the game had a brilliant co-op PvE campaign that ended abruptly. Hence, all that remains is the battle-royale arena.But there’s something else going on. On Apex Legends, each character has an ability, a particular weapon, and tools. Heroes are distinct and function to create synergies within 3-player squads. The rooster of heroes has grown with several updates, and the developers have added multiple balance changes.Even though Apex Legends needs strategic squad play, I would say it’s a casual shooter. It has a cartoony style, a light recoil system, and easy-to-use abilities.
Overwatch
Overwatch is one of the multiplayer shooters that came before Fortnite. We believe Epic Games took some inspiration from Blizzard’s cartoony looks and fast-paced combat. Also, its combat feels cool. Blizzard classifies Overwatch as a “team-based shooter. The setting is a near-future Earth, but, to be honest, the plot doesn’t matter. Every match is a 6v6 battle on a fair rooster of maps.As Apex Legends, Overwatch offers a distinct Rooster of heroes. Each has at least two abilities, sometimes an extra traversal ability, ultimate skill, and particular weapons. Also, each hero fulfills one of the three traditional roles: DPS (damage), Tank (defense), or Support (heals). On top of that, there’re hidden damage types, resistances, direct counters, and similar mechanics.Overall, we choose Overwatch because it’s a thrilling mix of FPS and extraordinary powers. Each match feels different and requires a great deal of teamwork. Beware, though: Overwatch is not easy. Players need precision, speed, reaction, and an idea of when and why to use their abilities.
Halo Infinite
Halo Infinite is the latest craze in the multiplayer shooter genre. We could have opened our list with the newer title, but it’s still too fresh to know how it will evolve.That said, so far, it looks incredible. First thing first: Halo Infinite, the multiplayer portion, is free-to-play and has a 50GB download. Then, you can buy the Halo Infinite campaign as a “DLC” for the everyday price of a full AAA game.For Halo fans, the long wait has been worth it. Despite its issues before release, Halo Infinite is a solid successor to the best Halo games like Reach and Halo 3. So, the classic multiplayer returns with 24-player arenas and 4 players per squad.Overall, the sci-fi FPS combat feels cool, fast, and amazing. It still has issues, though, like poor optimization on older PCs. Luckily, the developers will add free constant updates to improve performance and add more game modes.
Spellbreak
Spellbreak checks multiple bullet points you may be looking for. It has a quirky style, entertaining combat, and a battle royale formula.This is a multiplayer action game where all players control a battlemage. You use elemental magic to cast spell combinations and dominate other players on the Hollow Lands map. Maps support up to 64 players, and a player squad may have two or three players.To that end, you choose one of the six available classes. Each one has its spells to fit different playstyles. Moreover, you can customize the spells further to grow in power. Also, you can gather extra gear that allows you to blend various spells together and thus mix elemental powers (like an electrified tornado).Lastly, the game enjoys healthy support from both the fans and the developers. Each chapter the studio releases reveals more of the game’s lore.
Warframe
One of Fortnite’s biggest appeals is the wide range of cosmetic options. You can go from Secret Agent Banana to a funky-looking Thanos.Warframe reflects the same ideas. The whole game relies on you using a Warframe, a technologically advanced suit to travel across space for battle and glory. Warframes are highly customizable, so you may be spending most of your time finding ways to look better.Outside of the customization, Warframe is a free-to-play third-person action-adventure game. You can shoot, slash like a ninja, use abilities, and progress as a character. There’s also a weird storyline and addictive mechanics to make you play for hours.Moreover, Warframe is getting better and better each year. Developers keep expanding the lore, the campaign, the features, the skills, and the suits. All of this is available in single-player or co-op.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Fall Guys is not a shooter, but it’s still a Battle Royale of sorts. It’s not free, though, but the price of admission is low. You control a cute “abomination of science,” according to lore, on a series of challenges for the victory. In essence, the characters are bouncy beans with little legs and arms. You play against up to 60 players per arena, and there can only be a winner.These arenas put players on a series of mini-game challenges of all sorts. There’re obstacle races, football matches with giant balls, jumping platform challenges, and more. In a way, they took the Fortnite charming battle royale formula to expand with a whole array of content.Fall Guys became an instant success on launch day. However, it has received some backlash recently because the game asks you to link an Epic Games account. And, as we all know, the Epic Games Store is not popular because of its great functionality.
Among Us
Among Us is a bit of a stretch, and it’s not a game like Fortnite. However, I’ve found that people who like Fortnite also like Among US; the audiences are alike.Also, it’s a cheap casual game with cartoony graphics, constant updates, and featuring you against everyone else. The latter is the “cool factor:” your charm, witts, and tactics can lead you to victory.So, in Among Us, you play with 4 to 15 players via local LAN or online. You’re on a spaceship, preparing for launch, but one of the crew members is the Impostor. The Impostor’s goal is killing everyone and sabotaging the ship, so it doesn’t take off. ANd there can be up to three Impostors.Such a setting opens up gameplay that could only work through Discord, really. The players in the lobby have to find out who the Impostor is before taking off. The Impostor has to kill the crewmembers in silence. It’s all a game of lying, deceiving, manipulating, and finding the clues.
Z1 Battle Royale
Before we get confused, H1Z1 is the name of the battle royale for PS4. On PC, though, the game sells as “Z1 Battle Royale.” We added the trailer above because H1Z1 is perhaps the less-known game on the list. H1Z1 is a free battle royale that adds Fortnite and PUBG elements. However, it started as a zombie survival shooter, so its following features can feel rushed and unoriginal.Either way, the game features 150 players per map, fighting to stay alive. The battles are fast, chaotic, and require plenty of vehicle traverse and combat. The result is a silly but fast-paced and challenging FPS.The game has an Auto Royale mode that’s different from the competition. It puts 30 teams of four players vs. the others, but the entire battle happens on vehicles. Oh, and the map shrinks down over time.
Ring of Elysium
Ring of Elysium is both whimsical and serious. It’s serious because the setting, character models, and visuals are realistic instead of cartoony. But it’s whimsical because characters have near-absurd abilities that either make or break the game.On one parent, it has realistic graphics and a physics engine. These technical features manage the vehicles, a weather system, and dynamic illumination. AS a result, the world feels immersive.On the other hand, the game introduces a character creation engine. You can customize appearances and special traversal equipment and skill. You have things like a grappling hook, a BMX bike, or a Glider for equipment.Sadly, the game has evolved into the micro-transaction path since its release. It means most fans would tell you the game’s beta was actually better than its final form. It’s still free, though, so given that you have good internet and 10GB of space, you can try it in no time.
Rocket League
Not all games like Fortnite need to be battle royale shooters, or battle royales, or shooters. For example, we choose Rocket League for the casual fun, the cartoony style, the whimsical feel, and the free price tag.In Rocket League, you play as a small car in a large football match arena (soccer, for USA readers). These cars have rockets to propel forward, flip, flip backward, run across walls, and all kinds of crazy stunts. With these stunts, you have to actually push a giant ball into the enemy’s goal.It’s an online game, also. You play on teams up to four players or 1v1 matches. Each match has a 5-minute duration, but in case of a tie, the game opens up an unlimited extra time until one of the teams scores a goal. It’s a simple setting that opens up competitive arcade soccer with a ludicrous physics engine. Overall, Rocket League is entertaining and crazy. However, we recommend playing the game with a controller, even if you’re on a PC. Moving the car around with the mouse is very challenging.
Minecraft
Is Minecraft the game you’ve been looking for? The block builder has been mixing Battle Royale, survival, and building for years now. Moreover, it has various game modes to keep you engaged with varying degrees of challenge.The record-breaking game is a great inspiration for Fortnite. The newer game took its block building and added its shooter formula. More importantly, both games excel at the social aspect, the casual fun, and finding new things to do with every login.So, building and destroying are key aspects of Minecraft. There’s combat in Minecraft as well, either PvP or PvE. However, it doesn’t compare to the fluidity of a modern FPS, but it’s still adorable.Last but not least, Minecraft is kid-friendly. And if you’ve got a subscription to the Xbox Game Pass service, it can also be free…and zombies?
Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds
PUBG has earned a lot of fan criticism in the last couple of years due to a negative evolution. That’s the reason we left it for last. In fact, to combat the criticism, PUBG developers are making the game free on January 12th, 2022.Either way, the game offers 100 players per Battle Royale arena. It’s a standard formula with realistic weapons and recoil, where only the last person standing can win.The game has four maps to play, all of which are larger than Fortnite’s island. You need vehicles to get around, stay alive, and find more supplies.The “devolution” refers to the performance issues tainting the game. Examples are a barebones Start Menu, extensive hacking, the inability to choose a map, bots on every lobby, and server instability. It seems like developers abandoned the game, so perhaps you can wait until it becomes free.
