Fortnite Reload and Season OG offer two futures for Epic to chase

The new Fortnite Reload mode offers Epic Games a choice to chase for its future, other than its highly popular Season OG’s Battle Royale gameplay. The question is, which is the right decision?

Fortnite’s latest Reload mode has been gaining popularity since it dropped surpassing the overall concurrency rate of Chapter 5 Season 3 Battle Royale modes and peaking at 1 million players within 24 hours of launch.

The quick action Battle Royale and Zero Build gameplay brings back the Chapter 1 map and graphics in a smaller island and lobby. The only catch is that the mode throws you back into action once you’re eliminated, after a reboot time of 40 seconds, while your teammates work together to take out the enemy team and stay alive until you’re reloaded.

Fortnite Reload brings back the OG map, albeit a smaller version of it that offers a fresh perspective on the remixed Battle Royale gameplay from Chapter 1 and Season OG.

Reload mode has left a choice to be made, with Epic now standing between a new Battle Royale format or sticking to its roots with Season OG as a permanent mode

Fortnite’s Reload mode is the future of classic OG gameplay

Fortnite Reload is beloved by OG players. The quick gameplay brings back the thrill they experienced in LTMs like Late Game Arena or competitive Fortnite. While a traditional Battle Royale match lasts somewhere around 20-25 minutes, it’s still hard to rack up a high elimination count.

With Fortnite Reload, you don’t have to worry about your teammate picking up your reboot card or reviving you as you can simply go guns blazing while your team forms a strategy between reboots.

The mode thrives on teamwork and proper communication since one player on each team needs to stay alive and survive until other teammates reboot back in action. Personally, when I played my first match in Reload, I used the same strategy I used in all my Battle Royale matches – Loot, Outrun the Storm, and be the last one standing to claim the Victory Royale.

However, my strategy was soon thrown out the window. As soon as I landed on Retail Row to loot between landmarks, I was instantly shot at by players using a Common Assault Rifle. No matter what weapon you’re wielding in Reload, as long as you’re good at aiming, you’ve got the upper hand.

This style of gameplay has been missing in Battle Royale where players don’t need to rely on the rarity of their weapons or their building skill to claim the higher ground. In Reload, you can just Reboot onto an enemy’s build with an Assault Rifle and cause some serious damage.

While some players might say Reload mode is full of sweats, the opposite is true. Reload provides casual players a level playing field where they can, without fear, have fun and gain some experience and self-confidence to participate in modern Battle Royale competitive tournaments.

When it comes to practicing for Battle Royale tournaments, Fortnite players turn to Creative Maps that are either box fights or zone wars that don’t even put them in a scenario like they would be in while competing. This is where Reload adds value as it’s a practice ground modeled fully after Battle Royale gameplay, where players can simply play and get better for a sweatier Fortnite lobby.

Season OG undoubtedly evoked feelings of nostalgia. However, Reload goes beyond mere sentimentality. It utilizes elements from the past to create a wholly new and engaging mode.

It demonstrates how a smaller lobby can increase the action while maintaining the OG nostalgia and gameplay as closely as possible to pay homage to the classic Fortnite era while Epic pushes the envelope for the future of OG Battle Royale gameplay.

While Epic is juggling between multiple game modes that are each distinct in their own right, they offer an avenue for Fortnite players to take a break from a tedious Battle Royale match. Reload is one such game mode that players can resort to if camping out and surviving the storm on a large map isn’t their thing.

The future of Epic is right here with Reload, where instead of revamping an entire map, Epic can replace existing POIs with a newer one which can keep the island evolving as the Fortnite map has always done it season after season.

(Words from Rishabh Sabarwal)

Forget Reload – Fortnite OG needs to be permanent

As an OG Fortnite player, I admit I was initially excited to play Reload to relive the nostalgia that Season OG successfully rekindled. However, after a few matches the gimmick quickly wore off, making way for disappointment.

Yes, the fast-paced Reboot system does feel somewhat fresh. But, I can do that already in many popular OG-themed Creative maps, which aren’t disguised as being a BR.

Reload is a near-carbon copy of Warzone’s Resurgence mode. It has implemented the same timed respawns for players, in which as long as someone is alive in your squad, they can respawn after a countdown.

This not only directly encourages camping and hiding, but kills off the tense gunfights as you protect your life, as well as the satisfaction from getting eliminations and earning a coveted Victory Royale that makes Fortnite’s BR so addictive.

Instead, Reload is a constant sweat fest. The pacing feels off compared to Resurgence. You end up with endless fights, constantly landing in, looting, and finding it impossible to get a team wipe as one person is hidden.

Season OG captivated players by revisiting Fortnite’s beloved origins. With Reload releasing not even a year after the OG season, it’s diluting the nostalgia with a weaker mode. Epic has instead cashed in on the Fortnite community that loves anything classic and ‘OG’ to boost their falling player counts in Chapter 5.

Reload just doesn’t cut it for me. I would much rather Epic focuses on perfecting Season OG to finally bring it back as a standalone permanent mode with some inventive features to truly reminisce in the classic BR gameplay that we all love.

(Words from Josh Taylor)