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Fortnite Battle Royale on iOS: As Good as PS4, Xbox One, and PC?

Fortnite Battle Royale on iOS: As Good as PS4, Xbox One, and PC?

By Rishi Alwani | Updated: 20 March 2018 18:17 IST

Highlights

Fortnite Battle Royale is a 2GB download on iOS
It holds a steady frame rate
Aiming could be better on mobile

After a gameplay trailer for Fortnite Battle Royale on iPhone X, developer Epic Games has been sending Fortnite Battle Royale iOS invites in batches. If you still haven’t signed up for an invite, here’s how you can put your name down on the waitlist for Fortnite on iOS. Fornite Battle Royale download size is 2GB and Gadgets 360 managed to spend some time with the game on an iPhone 6s. In its current state, the game makes a mixed first impression.

While we weren't too impressed of Fortnite Battle Royale's visuals in its iOS gameplay trailer, it looks surprisingly vibrant on an iPhone 6s. Everything from its huge map and sense of scale to foliage and structures, and even character models translate well onto the smaller screen. From a technological standpoint, we were surprised to see so much crammed in with just a 2GB download size for Fortnite Battle Royale.

This Is How Fortnite Battle Royale Looks on an iPhone X

Even Epic’s claim of it being a cross-play, cross-progression experience holds true. Logging into the game allowed us to add our PSN account. This let us play the game with all the custom gear and outfits we’ve earned while playing on the PS4. Traversal options like ducking and jumping are present, as is the ability to build structures on the go. You can double tap the virtual joystick to run automatically, or drag to move.

Though it's welcome to see feature parity on par with the game on PC and consoles, it results in having an exceptionally cluttered iPhone screen.

However it isn’t just a cluttered display that’s a concern with Fortnite on iOS. Aiming and shooting feels wonky, it’s tough to get a precise aim as you’ll be dragging on the screen to aim while tapping to shoot. It’s an intuitive control scheme, but even then, it feels tough to line up shots, as if you’re working against the controls rather than with them.

Sometimes it’s just faster to take out your opposition with a melee attack from your pickaxe rather than gunning them down. Suffice to say, we won’t be surprised to see those playing the game on mobile to adopt different tactics and strategies.

How to Get Invite for Fortnite Battle Royale on iOS

One area where Fortnite Battle Royale iOS shines is in Epic’s thoughtful inclusion of visual cues. A white arc pops up when you’re close to another player that’s moving around. Its intensity changes depending on your distance from the other player. Gunfire in your general vicinity is displayed as a red arc with its direction pointing you to the location of a firefight.

Speaking of combat, Fortnite Battle Royale kept a steady frame rate. In our time with this initial build of the game, we didn’t notice any lag or stutter, it felt surprisingly smooth.

So far, Fortnite on iOS is a mixed bag. Once the novelty of its cross-play approach - that lets you compete against PC and console players - wears off, you’ll find yourself devising new ways to play with the unique visual cues and control options in the palm of your hand, particularly if you’ve been playing it on other platforms before diving into the game on iOS.

If you’re a newcomer to Fortnite Battle Royale, the good news is that this is perhaps the most accessible version of the game thus far. That being said, hopefully Epic refines aiming on Fortnite Battle Royale iOS and perhaps tweaks the user interface with future updates.

With Epic inviting more people to try it out in the weeks to come, it will be interesting to see if it impacts the net code in anyway, which has, so far, been up to the task. Right now Fortnite on iPhone is a promising experiment with a lot going for it in terms of its technical prowess with solid graphics and frame rate. It’s a slick showcase of console quality goodness on mobile devices.

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Further reading: Fortnite, Fortnite Battle Royale, Fortnite iOS, Fortnite iPhone, Fortnite iPhone 6s, Epic Games, Fortnite Battle Royale iOS download size