Why Fortnitemares 2022 was a disappointment (and how it could've been better)

Fortnitemares 2022 fell short of being good in many aspects. Unlike last year's celebrations, this time around, things were dead on arrival and failed to get even remotely better.

While many first-timers did enjoy the game's spooky season, the same cannot be said for most veterans and long-time fans. To them, the lack of effort was visible at every step of the way; from decorations to challenges, everything felt subpar. Here's the breakdown.

Note: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.

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The problems that plague Fortnitemares 2023

To start off, it has to be asked what exactly the developers were attempting to achieve with dark biomes. Certain POIs, like the Reality Tree and Knowby Cabin, had dark settings in and around their immediate vicinity. No doubt this was cool, but where's the starting and ending point?

One moment, players were surrounded by bright light, and the next, they were in perpetual darkness. Wouldn't it have been easier to encase these areas in perhaps a Chrome Anomaly? Perhaps something similar to what was used in Fortnitemares 2021 when the Sideways came into play would have been far more effective.

Even though Chrome is yet to spread to these biomes, a slight adjustment of lore would have solved the issue and made the situation infinitely better. Players could have phased through the Chrome anomaly to enter the dedicated POI's area and then engage in boss fights with different NPCs.

Given that the Sideways Anomalies were large enough to cover entire towns such as Misty Meadows, the same could have been done with the Reality Tree and other POIs that were given this dark environmental change.

Another gripe is the lack of decoration that was visible (in this case, not visible) across the island. Legacy POIs such as Tilted Towers only had a few Jack-O'-Lanterns to show off. Given the sheer size of this particular POI, finding them was a challenge in itself.

This was a common problem across the island, with barely any signs of Halloween distinctly visible. The only place that truly felt spooky was Grim Gables. But then again, this is due to the fact that the house reminds players of something similar from Stranger Things.

Speaking of Stranger Things, it's rather odd that the Witch Broom was not unvaulted for the Halloween event. Given that it provides further mobility and opens up tactical choices, not seeing it in the loot pool was saddening. Considering how much the community loved the item last year, it makes no sense to exclude it.

Then, there's the issue of lack of cosmetic items, which is a major blunder on Epic Games' part. Last year, the item shop was flooded with Fortnitemare-themed cosmetics.

There were so many options to choose from (most of which were on point), which is the opposite of this year's lineup. While certain outfits like Bonejamin and Ash Williams fit perfectly into the theme, most of them were out of place. To make matters worse, on the final day of Fortnitemares, no Halloween items were to be found in the Item Shop.

All in all, Fortnitemares 2022 was the poorest one so far. Apart from Howler Claws, Zombie Chicken, and the Pumpkin Launcher, there was nothing to see, do, or experience. The only true redeeming part was the challenges that provided 15,000 XP each.

With roughly a month to go until the end of Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 4, XP will certainly come in handy. That said, there's a lot that Epic Games could have done to improve Fortnitemares 2022.

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Fortnitemares 2023 wishlist

Although the next installment of Fortnitemares is far away, there are a few things that the developers can do to avoid repeating the lackluster mess this year. For starters, the game's many houses can be decorated. There was so much that could have been done in terms of decorations.

Why add just one carved pumpkin to the front of the house? Adding just one makes it seem as if minimal effort was put in for the event. Given that POIs such as Tilted Towers are hot-drop locations, adding more would have made sense. Hopefully, Epic Games will take this into consideration next year.

Another major item on the wishlist is Witch Brooms and Sideways Scythes. They are amazing in every way and not having them in the loot pool during the spooky season makes no sense. Given that they will only be in-game for a few days, there's reason not to add them in.

Adding Sideways Monsters to the main battle royale map is another thing that the developers should do. While there is a dedicated LTM (Horde Rush) for this purpose, it's definitely not the same experience.

While they were rather difficult to defeat in a fight, most players had fun taking down this behemoth for XP and loot. It's really a mystery as to why they were not added in. Even if the excuse was that they didn't suit the theme of the season, players wouldn't have bothered since it was Fortnitemares.

With all that said, Epic Games has a lot to get right for next year. Given how lackluster things felt this time around, a repeat of events will not bode well. Hopefully, Winterfest 2022 turns out to be better. Given how good the previous one was, there's a lot at stake for the game's developers.