Fortnite Mobile iOS REVIEW: World domination awaits for Battle Royale blockbuster

Fortnite Mobile is finally here, as the first wave of invitations go out to Battle Royale fans.

Fortnite Mobile is described as the full Battle Royale experience with no compromises.

It features the same map, the same content, the same unlockables, gameplay and even the same weekly updates.

The only restrictions are that users must have an internet connection, and iOS 11 on iPhone 6S/SE and later, or an iPad Mini 4, iPad Air 2, iPad 2017, iPod Pro and later.

iOS users can sign up for the Fortnite Mobile gameplay test by following THIS LINK.

But is Fortnite Mobile one step too far for the Battle Royale genre, and is anybody really going to play it over PS4, Xbox One or PC?

Check out our review gallery below to find out…

Fortnite Battle Royale is a pleasant surprise on iPad and iPhone.

Sure, there are visual compromises and one or two performance issues, but it’s otherwise a faithful recreation of the Battle Royale blockbuster.

All the same scavenging, building and battling action is here, right up to the very latest update released in midweek.

The biggest change involves new visual pop ups to warn you when players are nearby, or where gunfire is coming from. It’s a useful feature, and one that means you can happily play Fortnite on the bus with the sound turned down.

If you don’t own your own console, travel a lot, or simply need a 24/7 Fortnite fix, then this is a more than capable substitute for the PS4, Xbox One and PC releases.

Better yet, it’s completely free of charge.

Where Fortnite Mobile falls down – and why I won’t be playing against console or PC users when the feature is available – is the controls.

While the controls are surprisingly intuitive, it’s simply not as responsive as a controller/mouse and keyboard.

It’s especially difficult to accurately aim at fast moving targets, meaning you won’t stand a chance against players on another platform. Building things is also much slower, while the smaller screen doesn’t lend itself to long-distance sniping.

With movement assigned to the left side of the touchscreen and firing weapons to the right – with a few contextual icons thrown in for good measure – it’s hard to see how Epic could drastically improve the way it handles, so increased controller support is a must.

Express Online will revisit Fortnite Mobile at a later date, when there are more devices supported, more fans playing, cross-platform play and more optimisations released.

In the meantime, Epic deserves a lot of credit for squeezing its thrilling Battle Royale game into such a small device.

This isn’t my favourite way to play Fortnite, but if you get an invite you won’t be disappointed.

All that’s missing now is a Nintendo Switch port, and judging by its success on iPhone and iPad, we can’t imagine this is far off.