The fact thatFortnite’s player base has exceeded 250 million registered accounts clearly indicates that it’s the most popularbattle royalegame in the world. However, it doesn’t make it the only one worthy of your attention. There are plenty of other great titles in the genre, most of which you already know. So why not give them a chance?
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Here’s a list of 10 nice battle royale titles that are not necessarily worse thanFortnite. They are just different, but you might find something to your liking. Sadly, none of the games below include large-scale building mechanics, but it’s not the signature feature of the genre after all.
10H1Z1
H1Z1was the first proper standalone battle royale experience. Long beforeFortnite, as we know it, started its existence, zombie survivalH1Z1served as a foundation for Brendan Greene’s experiment. He transferred his ideas of a huge-scale battle royale death fight from custom modes forDayZandArmaover to a completely new game – and it turned out to be a success.
H1Z1was also the first official battle royale video game. Greene eventually departed to develop another project, but it’s always intriguing to see how it all started. And despite the countless updates,H1Z1is still the pioneer, and it deserves attention.
9CS:GO Danger Zone
Danger Zone was a very strange addition to the traditional list ofCS:GOmultiplayer modes, yet it did a great job at drawing in new players. In general, it kept most of the game’s mechanics unaltered. If you are a seasonedCounter-Strikeveteran, then you won’t face any complications learning the new mode.
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It has the same recognizable arsenal of weapons, intact gunplay, and even incorporation of traditional modes like saving hostages, which can give you a valuable advantage. And the compact scale of usualCounter-Strikebattle encounters affected the execution of Danger Zone.
8Realm Royale
Who said that a battle royale game should always rely on more or less realistic settings? Nowadays, there are tons of titles exploring new and sometimes completely unexpected design ideas.Realm Royalein that regard is somewhat less shocking. It is best described as “fantasyFortnite” without the building mechanics.
To fight your foes, you’re able to use swords, muskets, bows, and the like – a rich variety of fantasy weapons along with crafting, magic, and unique characters armed with special abilities. The game allows forging better equipment and riding horses. Isn’t that enough to tryRealm Royale?
7Darwin Project
Another “unconventional” battle royale game,Darwin Projectreally pushes the boundaries of the genre to include as many new mechanics as possible. It takes some literal inspiration fromThe Hunger Gamesas it includes an element of a deadly show broadcasted for the viewers. Spectators can vote for some crucial decisions, which could favor one contender of the other.
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Moreover, a player-controlled overseer can directly influence the flow of the match. In other words,Darwin Projectis not just about you and your opponents. The audience can mix your plans, the Director can throw in an unexpected variable, and the hostile weather is an equivalent enemy.
As much asDying Lightwas a small revolution in the outdated and conservative genre of zombie survival, it brought a few exciting and fresh ideas to the battle royale reality. The game put the emphasis on engaging melee combat and parkour acrobatics, which perfectly worked to enrich and diversify the popular last-man-standing mode.
Dying Light: Bad Bloodoffers neither the scale nor the full mechanics of a classic battle royale experience. Instead, it introduces a PvE element with dangerous zombies while there’s just a dozen of players parkouring their way towards the victory.
5Ring Of Elysium
Ring of Elysiumwas born thanks to Tencent’s desire to have an in-house and completely controlled battle royale game. If you are unfamiliar with the matter, Tencent is the Chinese publisher ofPUBG. The company adapted the game for the national market and runsPUBG Mobile. Still, it is far from owning a game, and that’s whereRing of Elysiumcomes into the spotlight.
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Interestingly,Ring of Elysiummanaged to offer some unique design ideas despite being a directPUBGrip-off. For starters, it heavily relies on telling a proper story, unlikePUBG, where there’s literally no in-game lore. Moreover, you won’t find a boring contracting ring in the game – there are extreme weather conditions that make players nestle closer to safe zones.
4Battlefield V Firestorm
The popularity of the battle royale genre forced “the big players” on the shooter market to consider BR games proper competitors. The newly created niche attracted stellar amounts of money from the gaming community, and huge publishers felt the need to cut a piece of cake. It was probably the main reason whyBattlefielddevelopers had to include a battle royale mode in the latest game.
Titled Firestorm, the mode introduced the signature military mayhem of the series to the genre. Sadly, there were some design flaws. For instance, Firestorm’s loot system is arguably the worst among huge battle royale titles, but it shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying the game.
3Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – Blackout
Call of Dutyseries has been a qualitative and refined franchise for quite some time. When a battle royale mode forBlack Ops 4was announced, there was a reasonable amount of skepticism. However, Blackout eventually turned out to be a high-budget experience just like the base game. If you love the multiplayer shootouts inCall of Duty, then you will absolutely adore its take on BR.
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Interestingly, Blackout managed to stay familiar. The game’s original map consists of existing multiplayer maps from across the various entries in the series. They were simply put together to create one huge territory, which is recognizable at first sight by the fans.
2PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Admittedly,PUBGis thegame responsiblefor the modern popularity of the battle royale genre. It was the second battle royale game by Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene afterH1Z1, and he’d learned his lesson with the first standalone development experience.PUBGwas bigger and better in each and every aspect.
Even though it was a laggy mess of a game upon the release, the title managed to attract millions of players thanks to the purity of its gameplay, modern setting, engaging gunplay, and realistic mechanics. On top of that,PUBGoffered a deeply satisfying feeling of achieving a hard-earned victory.
1Apex Legends
Apex Legendsis by far one the best alternatives toFortnitein terms of offering pure battle royale experience. Its sudden and overly successful release causeda natural rivalrywithFortnite. The developers of the latter were even forced to adopt some of the coolest features that were introduced to the genre byApex Legends.
In other words, if you are looking for a perfect game that could takeFortnite’s place, then it’s certainlyApex Legends. Its character-based, fluent and fast-paced gameplay is fairly easy to learn. However, as it always happens with deep and thoughtful games, it’s really challenging to master.
