Fortnite festival puts Rock Band and Fuser inside of Epic Games’ live-service juggernaut, but don’t get too excited.
It’s been a wild three days for Fortnite. First, the battle royale game expanded with Lego Fortnite, a full survival crafting game with extensive brick-building. Just one day later, Psyonix dropped its latest game, the excellent Rocket Racing, in the app. Epic Games is completing its hat trick today with Fortnite Festival, a music experience crafted by Guitar Hero-maker Harmonix. It’s a fitting way to cap off a festive few days for the most popular game around — or, at least, it sounds like one on paper.
In reality, Fortnite Festival is the oddest addition to the live service game’s new offerings. It essentially adds both Rock Band and Fuser into Fortnite, though each is implemented in a way that doesn’t quite live up to their full counterparts. Whereas Rocket Racing feels like a fully original game that could have stood on its own, Fortnite Festival plays more like the bonus mode you’d probably expect from this endeavor.
Though I enjoyed what I played at an early demo event ahead of its launch, it leaves me hoping that Harmonix’s talents are relegated to Fortnite experiences going forward. It’s simply too talented to be making musical emotes.Let’s jam
Fortnite Festival adds two elements to the live service game. First, there’s “Main Stage” mode, which is Rock Band without the plastic instruments. It’s the exact same rhythm game setup, where players can choose between drums, guitar, bass, and vocals. Up to four players can jam together, playing along to a rotating selection of licensed songs. The initial list of tracks includes heavy hitters from Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance to Weezer’s Buddy Holly. It’s a good selection of songs to start, showing off Harmonix’s eye for crafting strong, multi-generational playlists.
