19 Games Like Fortnite
Our array of games like Fortnite features other titles that offer a wealth of PvE content and loot hunt or offer a thrilling battle royale experience instead. Regardless of the style of game you seek you'll find both varieties below with high quality options that span console, computer and mobile devices.
Released as a paid Early Access title with a free to play release in 2018 Fortnite started its game life as a co-operative sandbox survival game where players team up to battle Husks (zombie inspired creatures) in a post-apocalyptic Earth. A standalone and free to play spin off of this PvE gameplay was released in 2017 and was based on the growing battle royale genre of the time, quickly captivating an audience of millions.
Set after the disappearance of 98% of the population the world is taken over by a range of zombie like creatures who prey on the remaining 2% of survivors. Allowing up to four players to fight together against the approaching storm players will explore randomly generated game levels to gather resources, build defensive structures and fight off waves of enemies.
All the while players will be increasing the level of their character, support survivors, weapons and traps to allow you to go deeper and deeper into occupied territory, facing increasingly powerful and diverse opposition. This combines with skill and research trees and plenty of other points of customisation to allow players to experience and play Fortnite in a multitude of ways.
While the battle royale element of the game strips away a number of these features to ensure players are always on equal footing as they jump off the battle bus the same loot style system is present with players able to find common, uncommon, rare, epic and legendary gear which offers a range of different damage ranges and other variables. Further customisation is limited to visual character elements which are available separately or through a season specific Battle Pass.
This list of games like Fortnite features games that are similar to the PvE (Save the World) game component alongside those that are more PvP (Battle Royale) focused. Criteria considered for inclusion on this list:
- Battle royale mode native to the game or available through a mod.
- Gameplay includes elements of crafting, traps and loot mechanics.
- PvE game modes that support up to 4 players against waves of enemies.
- PvE enemies are zombies or zombie-like.
Warframe
Warframe is a free shooter available for PC and the PlayStation 4. It’s co-operatively focused and uses a third person perspective, the game gained lots of traction after a 2013 release. The game has a sci-fi twist with players talking control of a Tenno warrior who has come out of cryosleep after centuries. The world isn’t as they remember leaving it and now they find themselves at war on all sides (against three factions). As masterful warriors though this race has a few tricks up their sleeve...[Read Review]
Cuisine Royale
The first battle royale game of its kind Cuisine Royale combines the typical experience of the genre with a host of kitchenware and food to be discovered, looted and equipped. Intended as a joke by the developers of the upcoming World War II shooter Enlisted the game quickly gained traction and a reasonable community that warranted it’s own development process. Thankfully though due to the similar themes to their planned title Cuisine Royale started from a solid foundation of shooting mech...[Read Review]
Trove
Trove brings the blocky sandbox genre into the MMO arena with an expansive loot based title that mixes two leading game genres. In Trove players will select from several classes which will be your avatar for the adventure filled with making friends, exploring dungeons, enhancing your equipment and even building up your very...[Read Review]
Orcs Must Die! 2
Orcs Must Die! 2 is a trap based shooter where you’ll fend of wave after wave of orcs using various upgradeable traps and weapons. Unlike the original game the emphasis this time around is on the co-operative campaign which expands on the experience by allowing you to share it with a friend for the first time. Set just a few days after the events of the original Orcs Must Die! title players will now also have the opportunity to take control of the Sorceress who stands alongside the War Mag...[Read Review]
Warface
Warface offers free to play shooting with classes and co-operative modes against an ever expanding number of maps. Available for PC and at one point Xbox 360 (shut down Feb 2015) Warface is a highly rated free to play shooter and recently added it’s own Battle Royale mode. Co-op mode in Warface features a class system of Rifleman, Sniper, Medic and Engineer which each bring their own skills to ensure victory in the daily missions that you and your friends will have to conquer. This ensures...[Read Review]
Minecraft
Minecraft is the ultimate sandbox adventure and has grown from humble beginnings to become one of the biggest and most loved games of all time culminating in the sale of the game by its independent developer to the behemoth Microsoft for a large sum. Not only has Minecraft itself had significant success but it also spawned a wave of copycat titles inspiring a whole new genre of blocky sandbox games that either adopted the Minecraft formula fully or offered their own spin on the Minecraft adventu...[Read Review]
Infestation: The New Z
Infestation: The New Z offers another iteration of The War Z and Infestation: Survivor Stories with a free to play open world shooter made for PvP play across various game modes. Ignoring the rocky history that this franchise has had with countless development issues and decisions that have been less than well received by the community Infestation: The New Z has thus far avoided the same fate a few months into release and hopefully this trend continues for the title so that it may finally see th...[Read Review]
Unturned
Focusing on zombie survival the free to play multiplayer game known as Unturned spent 3 years in Early Access before its final release on the Steam platform in July 2017. Since release the game has not only proved popular in its core gameplay but also the Arena mode which is similar to battle royale titles such as PUBG. In November 2020 the game was expanded to consoles with releases on PS4 and Xbox One as a paid experience. Regardless of the game mode players opt for the same basic premise rema...[Read Review]
Paladins
Paladins (Paladins: Champions of the Realm) joins the growing number of free to play hero shooters. With a setting hat blends together fantasy with that of ancient technology the Paladins setting is unique to the hero shooter. On top of the core hero shooter Paladins also offers a Paladins Battlegrounds game mode. Similar to other games in the niche Paladins offers a range of champions to control on the battlefield that come with their own special set of abilities that can be further customised ...[Read Review]
3079
3079 is a unique and challenging game that blends a number of genres together to create a sci-fi action role playing meets first person shooter experience. On the one hand you’ve got random generation and a voxel game world that feels like Minecraft but then you’ve got role playing and shooter elements that are more aligned with what the Borderlands or Fallout series has to offer. On paper it’s a weird mix of mechanics and settings but it all feels perfectly blended once you start your own 3079 ...[Read Review]
Portal Knights
Focusing on the adventure and survival elements of the Minecraft franchise Portal Knights offers a sandbox multiplayer experience that sees you fighting along friends as you craft items, fight monsters, destroy blocks and construct buildings. Unlike Minecraft though your adventure begins by picking one of the available classes being Warrior, Mage and Ranger which have unique skills and strengths within the game world. Spawning into the tutorial players will become familiar with the third person ...[Read Review]
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)
Starting the battle royale craze in 2017 PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) quickly commanded an audience of millions and gave birth to a wider genre that would dominate the gaming industry for years to come. Subsequent to its success on Xbox One and Windows the game was released on the PlayStation 4 and on mobile devices (iOS/Android) with a free price tag to compete with other mobile free to play battle royale titles. Based on a mod created by Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene...[Read Review]
Darwin Project
Shrinking down the battle royale genre to a 10 player battle on a smaller map is Darwin Project, a game that feels as close to the Hunger Games as a gaming experience has offered yet. After a brief launch as a paid title Darwin Project evolved into a free to play battle royale to ensure it was able to capture an appropriately sized audience to support it’s take on the battle royale formula. Set in a post apocalyptic and dystopian future where an Ice Age is fast approaching a new project ha...[Read Review]
Dead Island
In Dead Island you’ll have to explore an open world environment and try to prevent being eaten by using whatever weapons you can find around the place. Dead Island is a great role playing experience for fans of survival horror and is available on Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Dead Island features a fictional island which is home to a luxury tropical resort. After a night of wild partying the player wakes up as one of the four available characters (each with their own stats and skills) an...[Read Review]
Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V continues the popular open world series and takes it into the next level with plenty of innovation. The game is one of the most fully fledged games in the genre and feels like an actual living game world. On top of the single player gameplay a vast world of GTA V Online also exists expanding potential gameplay even further. Online game modes even include a Battle Royale inspired Motor Wars. One of the most notable innovations is the introduction of three main characters that p...[Read Review]
Z1 Battle Royale
H1Z1 began its life as H1Z1 on Steam (Early Access) but soon split off into a separate game alongside the more sandbox survival title (Just Survive) as the King of the Kill game mode thrived in the growing genre of battle royale titles. After being briefly called H1Z1: King of the Kill, the battle royale mode was renamed to Z1 Battle Royale and available for free. The game itself offers large scale combat where players fight to the death in attempt to be the last one standing within the ever shr...[Read Review]
Dead Island: Riptide
Dead Island: Riptide is the second game in the Dead Island series and continues on with familiar lore and mechanics from your previous adventure but takes place on a whole new island which keeps it accessible to newcomers to the franchise. Launching in 2013 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 its an overall similar experience released only two years after the success of the original zombie beat down title. The events in Dead Island: Riptide occur right after those of the first Dead Island game although th...[Read Review]
Rules of Survival
Moving the constantly growing battle royale genre into the mobile arena Rules of Survival was an early entrant into the mobile battle royale market allowing it to capture a committed audience. While other big names in the genre such as Fortnite and PUBG have since moved in Rules of Survival continues to be a popular title for the mobile audience and offers an experience most similar to PUBG with a realistic themed shooter and various vehicles. Subsequent to the mobile success of Rules of Surviva...[Read Review]
Grand Battle Royale
Bringing across the popular battle royale formula to the mobile Android market, Grand Battle Royale offers the same massive multiplayer online arena style of game that you’ve become accustomed to on your computer screen. Spawning into the game world in a random location Grand Battle Royale follows the format of similar titles with players acquiring melee weapons and guns littered across the landscape and using these to take out every last enemy and claim victory for yourself. The constantl...[Read Review]