Fortnite has grown into an absolute phenomenon. Since the time of its launch, it has gone through a PUBG-alike into of the biggest platforms out there. In the last month alone Fortnite has given out more Esports cash than any other game and premiered the prologue to the year’s biggest movie. It is hard to argue with that kind of impact, but is it the best Battle Royale game?
There are loads of Battle Royales now, and Fortnite is far from the first. These games are subjective, while you can measure them up against it each other, it ultimately comes down to personal preference. Still, for those objectifiable categories where we can compare one game up to other, which comes out on top? Which game has the biggest maps or the best graphics? Which is the best Battle Royale?
Player Count – Which is the Best Battle Royale?
Player count is really important when it comes to Battle Royales. If Fortnite is the best Battle Royale, it kind of needs to have the games beaten in these categories. You need 100 players for every game and that’s some strain on the lobby when you bring in skills batched matchmaking. So when it comes to player count and the size of the player base, does Fortnite come out on top?
Fortnite
Fortnite comes out pretty well here. The lobbies are always pretty busy; this is definitely helped by how common the updates to the game are. However, skill-based matchmaking has effected things. To help alleviate the problems of switching to a game system where lobbies don’t feel as full, we now have bots. Players have noticed that while the time to get into a game is really quick, you’re often playing with a fair amount of bots. They act a little strange too. The frequency of these player’s point towards a slight problem when it comes to matchmaking, at last, compared to this time last year.
PUBG
PUBG used to have lobbies that were permanently full. This has changed as time has gone on and more Battle Royales have released. A lot of this comes down to and options. PUBG has given layers a lot more control over the specifics of their games, this means you’ll have to wait longer to play a game that is exactly what you want. This is the trade of from having so many maps, but it is a little harder to find a game than with Fortnite.
Apex Legends
Apex Legends sits somewhere between Fortnite and PUBG. It doesn’t have as much variety so you don’t have always have to wait that long. However, the game’s popularity has been falling off since release. The initial drop was pretty big, but it has been a continuous trend. Going into 2020, Apex Legends might end up having a player base problem.
Call of Duty
Call of Duty’s Battle Royale mode is yet to launch, but it is bound to be crowded on opening day. The issue here will become sustaining that player count. Call of Duty has loads of game modes and it isn’t free to play. Compared with Fortnite which is free and limits your options, or even PUBG which is paid but devoted to Battle Royale, this might make it a bit difficult to keep servers full. There is also the rumored high player count for this game. This means it is going to be quite a bit harder for this Battle Royale to maintain a high player count.
Verdict – Which Battle Royale is Better for Player Count?
Fortnite might have things closed up here, but not by much. Each game has enough players to stop you too long for a match. PUBG may have spread itself a little too thin for comfort, and Call of Duty is likely to face the same problem after the initial hype dies down. If this is the vital factor for you, then Fortnite is your best choice. However, all games are now finding that matching players with 99 others of their own skill level in less than 30 seconds isn’t the easiest task.
Which is the Best Battle Royale for Map Size?
When it comes don to PUBG Vs Fortnite Vs Apex Legends Vs Call of Duty, map size is always going to be an important factor. There is a much greater variety here than many would expect. What are the options between the Battle Royales for maps?
PUBG
PUBG’s map are huge, and there are quite a few of them. These games often make the circle into your worst enemy. Because of this, and gameplay can become a camping simulator as you rarely run into other surviving players. Whether this is positive or negative depends on the type of gameplay you want, but PUBG is the biggest.
Fortnite
Fortnite’s new map is pretty big. It has ample space for 100 players. However, it is definitively smaller than all but one PUBG map. Only the tiny Sanhok is actually smaller than Fortnite’s island. Fortnite’s map has always been bigger than Apex Legends though, and this hasn’t changed with either Chapter 2 or World’s Edge. Fortnite’s island is a great size for the scale and scope of the game. It doesn’t feel too cramped and it avoids PUBG’s empty island problems. Even if Fortnite isn’t quite the biggest, it is arguably the right size.
Apex Legends
Apex’s Legends’ new map is a bit bigger than King Cynon, the original map, but the difference isn’t substantial. Both are smaller than your average PUBG map too. As a team game, Apex Legends works on the assumption that you’re moving around in fours at all times. This means the level design has to cram players closer together to keep things interesting. It assumes that each team won’t need the same amount of space as an individual in a solo game. This means Apex needs smaller maps to function, or it would be a ghost town.
Call of Duty
The Call of Duty map has leaked early and appears to be a similar size to Fortnite and the medium PUBG maps. It does, however, lack some of the flair and differentiating features that you’ll find in Fortnite and Apex Legends.
Verdict – Which is the Best Battle Royale for Map Size?
PUBG has the biggest maps, and Apex has the smallest. However, which of these two is better for you depends on how you like to play. Fortnite and Call of Duty both land pretty squarely in the middle, which gives them a point for being the best of both worlds. Fortnite’s map might not be as big as PUBG, but it doesn’t have the same empty space.
Weapons and Items – Which is the Best Battle Royale?
Battle Royales are loot-based, so in a question of Fortnite Vs PUBG Vs Apex Legends Vs Call of Duty, the loot has to be a factor. How does each measure up? Which is the best Battle Royale for finding cool and balanced gear?
Fortnite
Fortnite has a kind of stable batch of weapons at the moment, but previous seasons have been ridiculous with hastily added unbalanced weapons and items. The Air Strikes, Infinity Blade, Storm Flip… the list is pretty long. Fortnite has enough weapons to keep you happy, but often its new additions are sometimes more irritating than fun. They have a habit of not properly balancing new weapons, which is definitely a drawback here. However, they are accessible and easy to use or understand. You might not get the in-depth gunplay of some other games, but its unique additions can’t be beaten for fun.
Apex Legends
Apex Legends has a solid batch of weapons, and that’s about it. There isn’t much to distinguish things and with very little change or improvement since release. While PUBG is also quite static, it has a better solid core of choices. Apex Legends just don’t hold up when it comes to this department.
PUBG
PUBG is the originator of the Battle Royale and it takes a more realistic approach to things like weapons and items. This keeps the amount open to you low, but each is unique and useful. The weapons and items are balanced and actually add to the game. This definitely puts it above Fortnite and Apex Legends. The more realistic gun play might have a rival soon though, with the release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare’s Battle Royale mode.
Call of Duty
Call of Duty has a huge system for creating a class that it would be impossible to cover in full here. Call of Duty kind of wins this category if you’re looking for a mixture of realism and options. Even when adopting sections of this loadout to suit the Battle Royale format, they seem to be doing it an interesting way. It takes some creativity to make killstreaks and perks work in Battle Royale, but it looks like they’ve done it. This could make it one of the best Battle Royale games.
Verdict – Which Battle Royale is Better for Weapons and Items?
Call of Duty has a massive amount of weapons and items, and they’re all unique and balanced. Attachments more than triple the possibilities for weapons without anything feeling watered down. PUBG has a similar approach of well-balanced weapons. Apex Legends kind of has the worst of both worlds, bland and uninteresting weapons, without enough variety. Fortnite has some problems with its roster, sometimes additions aren’t particularly helpful for the game. However, it does bring a lot more adventure to looting with its limited-time items.
Which is the Best Battle Royale for Graphics?
The majority of this conversation has to come down to personal preference. You can definitely stare at two completely different images and attempt to boil them down into which looks better contest. However, that kind of isn’t what’s important with games. There is no objective best here, especially when so many games need their displays dialing right down to run better anyway. We can compare each game, but the subjectivity of graphics is worth keeping in mind when looking for the best Battle Royale.
Fortnite
Fortnite looks great, any unsmooth spots have been fixed up with the release of Chapter 2. It is pretty stylized and has a defined feel. Compared with some other Battle Royales, this allows it to get away with a lot more. It is easier to have a cartoony style look right than to go for photo-realism.
PUBG
PUBG looks good, but it has always been plagued with accusations of being an asset-flip. It kind of goes for realism, but the game is too demanding to really achieve that. Instead, you get something of a middle ground of a game that reaches to look great but doesn’t quite manage it. It has been improving, but it doesn’t have the consistent polish of Fortnite.
Apex Legends
Apex Legends has a different aesthetic entirely, it follows suit with Titanfall, the series it draws its origin from. Apex looks pretty good at what it tries to do, the issue is that what it tries to do is too often a bit dull. Design choices go for the safe option rather than anything interesting. Apex Legends might look pretty good, but it doesn’t exactly reflect the personality that clearly goes into other aspects of the game.
Call of Duty
Call of Duty looks fantastic. It is a similar look to PUBG, but a lot more polished. It is hard to weigh things up entirely until we see the Battle Royale in action. It is possible that the game’s look doesn’t hold up so well to such pressure. However, given the polish of the rest of the game that’s pretty unlikely. Call of Duty achieves a fantastic look with a lot of realism if that is what you’re after than Call of Duty comes out ahead.
Verdict – Which is the Best Battle Royale Graphically?
Fortnite and Call of Duty both perfect their respective styles, it’s hard to find much fault with them. While this is entirely subjective, PUBG often feels half-finished in how it looks. Apex Legends looks like a game from a big developer trying to play it safe, a bit boring. While subjective, it’s arguable that Fortnite and Call of Duty shine the most here.
Which is the Best Battle Royale for Gameplay?
Each of these Battle Royale games actually takes a different approach to the genre. They share the same key characteristics, but each does it in a completely different way. Which is the best Battle Royale here comes down to preference quite a bit, but it is comparable.
Fortnite
Fortnite has gone from a PUBG-like game to something that bears little resemblance to it. Building adds a lot to the game, so does non-realistic approach to weapons and items. What is even more interesting with Fortnite is the way it changes Season to Season. New mechanics make the entire game feel fresh, and minor additions change the entire metagame for a few weeks at a time. Fortnite’s gameplay is a lot of fun, and with so much game it rarely gets boring.
PUBG
PUBG goes for realism and adds pretty much nothing else. It is good solid gameplay if you want gunplay and the Battle Royale hallmarks. You can’t really find fault with the originator of the genre, but it is definitely good that other games have sought to distinguish themselves in comparison to this.
Apex Legends
Apex Legends is a bit of a strange game. It is a Battle Royale like PUBG or Fortnite, but it has some big sections of Overwatch mashed in there too. The Hero shooter elements aren’t really as unique as some might think, they are straight out of Blizzard’s popular shooter. This contributes to some of the early suggestions that Apex is a game made by committee, it feels like executives picked up elements from other big games and stitched them together. This isn’t to say it isn’t fun, but it doesn’t have the same personality that the others do. Still, the addition of characters and ultimate abilities definitely makes it feel like a different game to play.
Call of Duty
Call of Duty’s gameplay is… Call of Duty. The series is an institution and you always know what you’re getting yourself in for. When it comes to which is the best Battle Royale, Call of Duty has some interesting systems at work to transition from shooter to Battle Royale, like findable perks and keeping killstreaks going. It is shaping up to be a really interesting take on the gameplay formula.
Verdict
This one is entirely objective. Each has a well-defined and different gameplay style; it is just up to you which one you pick. If anything, the comparison shows off just how much variety there is between Battle Royales.
Which is the Best Battle Royale?
A lot of what makes up a great video game is subjective. Every Battle Royale has its pluses and minuses, but lining them all up against each other it’s clear that some have more minuses than others. This is still all subjective, and players might well prefer Apex legends, or Fortnite, or even Spellbreak. These things vary depending on what you want from the game.
Fortnite has very much made itself a sensation, and that’s reflected when you put it up against each other Battle Royale. PUBG, as the originator, deserves its credit but comes up a little short in some categories. Apex Legends probably fares the worst from a direct comparison, the game is improving but it is hard to shake some initial problems with the game’s lack of individuality. It is difficult to call it the best Battle Royale. Call of Duty looks set to be something interesting, but you always have to keep in mind there that this isn’t the same type of product as the other Battle Royales. Call of Duty is a whole range of games, and a Battle Royale second.
Fortnite and PUBG might remain the big names in the Battle Royale genre, but Call of Duty and Apex legends definitely have plenty to brag about. Fortnite is currently going from strength to strength, and that doesn’t look set to change in 2020.