FutureFive New Zealand - Consumer technology news & reviews from the future
Story image
The differences and similarities between Fortnite Battle Royale and PUBG
Fri, 27th Apr 2018
FYI, this story is more than a year old

The Battle Royale genre started heating up last year thanks to the release of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG). After that, Epic Games released the worldwide hit Fortnite which is arguably the more popular option.

Despite both video games having very similar concepts, they also differ a lot from each other. If you've played both games before, you'll know that PUBG and Fortnite have very different gameplay experiences.

Here's a rundown on both games to give you an idea which one is better for you. I've played both games extensively over the past couple of months and I enjoy them so far.

Price And Availability: Fortnite Battle Royale is really cool mainly because it's free to play on any platform you get it on. It does not matter if you play the game on PC, PS4, Xbox One or on mobile because it's free to play on every device. The only thing you have to pay for are cosmetic extras just to make your character look cooler.

As for PUBG, that game is only free if you play the mobile version of the game. If you want to play the game on PC or Xbox One, it's going to cost you $39.95 NZD. Not to mention if you own a PS4, currently PUBG is not available for PlayStation owners.

The Nintendo Switch seems to be the only major platform that does not have either Fortnite or PUBG at the moment. Hopefully a Switch port of either game gets released in the future.

Graphics: Visually, both games offer vastly different experiences when it comes to the graphics. Fornite has bright cartoon style graphics and it's often easy to see where golden chests are. Not to mention weapons brightly glow in the dark whenever you see them on the ground. Unlike PUBG however, Fornite only offers a third-person camera viewpoint.

PUBG offers more realistic looking graphics, but the other main difference is that you can switch between both first-person and third-person perspectives. However since the game is still early access on Xbox One, you will see rough patches in the graphics sometimes.  Content: Fortnite's default game modes include Solo, Duos and Squad matches. However, there are also some Limited Time game modes that increase the enjoyability of the game. In the past, Epic Games has offered stipulations like explosive weapons only or sniper rifles only.

My favourite game mode so far though is happening right now and that's the 50 vs 50 mode. Having 49 players in your team is really helpful and it makes matches much bigger and more exciting. The only downside to Fortnite's content is the fact that only one map is available and there are no vehicles for you to pilot.

As for PUBG, it offers the same game modes such as Solo, Duos and Squads. Arguably there is more content in PUBG because there are now three maps for you to try on the PC version plus several vehicles for you to drive such as cars, trucks, dune buggies and motorcycles.

Gameplay: Even though both games offer similar game modes, the gameplay is vastly different. The main difference in Fortnite is the fact that there is a building mechanic. You can collect resources throughout the map to build forts, bridges and other type of cover to protect you from bullets.

Fortnite also includes a much smaller map so matches are faster paced and you often run into players at a much quicker rate. Due to the faster pace, Fortnite's matches are shorter and arguably more enjoyable.

PUBG on the other hand has a much larger map often requiring you to find a vehicle to seek out other players. The pace is also much slower than in Fortnite as seeing other players on the map isn't as frequent.

Many times while playing PUBG, I would spend several minutes running from house to house seeing absolutely nobody at all. That is until the playing circle gets much smaller and someone would shoot me with a rifle from a long distance.

Driving vehicles is the main difference in PUBG and it can be super fun if you manage to find one. I remember I came second in a solo match simply by just running over everyone I saw in my jeep!

Bottom Line: Personally, I find Fortnite more enjoyable than PUBG as a whole due to the faster pace in matches and the building mechanics. I find PUBG matches to be too slow if I'm unable to find a vehicle to drive. That said, I do enjoy playing both games and different people will have their own opinions. If you never played a Battle Royale game before, I suggest you play Fortnite first as PUBG has a much harder difficulty curve for beginners