Fortnite, in case you haven’t heard, is kind of a big deal. Its Battle Royale mode pits 100 players against each other after they parachute onto an island from a flying bus. You start by collecting resources and scavenging for weapons, working your way up to the point where you can build elaborate structures to help you take out other players with souped-up gear. Everyone from Drake to your mom is playing it (seriously, go ask her), and it’s dominating Twitch and YouTube streams since it debuted last year.
A quick search on YouTube will turn up countless “greatest plays” videos showing off some of the hilarious and amazing moments from players’ adventures. Here are the best plays from 2018 we’ve turned up so far.
1. A Good Defense
With everyone shooting at once, dodging bullets is just as important to winning at Fortnite as getting your own ammo where it needs to go. This clip from YouTube user JNO shows some impressive footwork. While the urge to run and gun is strong, this player knows the value of restraint. They take a long circle around their opponent and pick out the exact right moment to go for the kill.
2. He Can’t Believe It, Either
Part of the fun of watching gaming streams is looking out for the surprising moments. Lucky shots are common. And one of the best parts of catching one is when the person playing is as surprised as anyone else at their incidental skill. FaZe SpaceLyon shares this hyperbolically titled clip in which he calls his shot and then, somehow, makes it.
3. Restoring Balance
Fortnite scored some cool bonus content to coincide with the release of Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War: Thanos, the Mad Titan, became playable in Battle Royale. Players raced to pick up the Infinity Gauntlet when it landed on the map, and then they got a variety of color-coded attacks with which to lay waste to their enemies. IIJakeyII shows off this admirable run as the MCU’s biggest bad yet, in which he obliterates seven foes with the power of the Infinity Stones.
4. Get This Person Some LEGO
Building is as important as shooting if you’re going to win in Fortnite. That’s why “fort” is right there in the name. A well-placed wall can be a lifesaver and buy you time to get the drop on opponents. KRATOZNIZMO has some bold words here, declaring themselves the fastest Fortnite builder of them all. This clip shows off how impressively they can throw up a giant building while still taking time to defend it from other players.
5. Surprise! You Win
Like the earlier clip, this showing from New Retro Doge Video shows a player landing an amazing sniper shot. And this one even wins him the round. That makes it even better than the other one, and his reaction is priceless. That’s especially true since it looks like he didn’t even mean to shoot just then.
6. Fooling No One
Fortnite’s disguises are rare consumable items that let gamers appear to be harmless environmental objects until they take damage. And no Fortnite roundup is complete without the game’s most famous player, Ninja. LondonFog shares the final seconds of a round in which the legend’s opponent tries (and fails) to pass themselves off as a bush.
7. Sometimes It’s Teamwork
While the competitive Battle Royale mode gets most of the attention from Fortnite players, the title did start as a co-operative game. This highlight from Impulse God shows some real friendship as one player cleverly uses grenades to rescue their partner from the destructive storm that slowly reduces the play area. It’s the most heartwarming moment of one person using explosives on another that you’re likely to ever see.
