These days, Fortnite is mostly a game about playing Fortnite. To play Fortnite well is simply to always be playing Fortnite, and not doing other things. Other things will come to you, in Fortnite: concerts, anime, movies, and all sorts of brand collabs. It’s its own little ecosystem, where corporations go to remind the youths about other places they can spend their money. Kind of like a mall, except popular.
Today brings something new, though: the “Alan Wake: Flashback,” a re-imagining of Remedy Entertainment’s 2010 thriller Alan Wake within Fortnite. Accessible through Fortnite’s Discover menu or via island code 3426-5561-3374, the Alan Wake: Flashback will let players experience a recap of the first game in advance of its dope-looking sequel, out next week.
Honestly, this is ingenious. Alan Wake is 13 years old, and while there is an excellent remaster available on modern platforms (that you should play if you can) a free playable wiki summary of the first game is a fantastic no-pressure way to see what the fuss is about. It’s a step above the usual Fortnite ad barrage, which is usually limited to character skins (don’t worry, those are coming too) and, on better occasions, new areas of the map and mechanics to go with them. Every long-running franchise should do this. Fortnite please do one of these for those Trails in the Sky games next.