Epic Games made a bold move for May the Fourth this year. By dropping three brand new Star Wars-themed game modes in Fortnite. I pulled up a chair with my friend and fellow video game enthusiast, Kuma. To witness what the galaxy far, far away had to offer in Fortnite’s creative Ecosystem.
Galactic Siege
If you’ve ever mourned the slow death of the Battlefront series and wondered when someone would pick up that torch. Galactic Siege is here to wave it at least around. Built around capture points and team-based combat. It’s probably the closest any Fortnite Creative mode has come to feeling like its own full game. (personal opinion, of course) There is a good number of Iconic Star Wars locations, and as of writing this. Two new maps have been added to the rotation: Nevarro, the dusty frontier town familiar to any Mandalorian fan. And a new Sand Planet map that brings the heat of open desert combat to the fight.
With the update, there’s also been a new edition at the Cantina! Your starting hub before you jump into a match, the Force Arena is a dedicated practice space. This is where players can sharpen their skills before heading into battle. A small edition that makes me feel like the developers could be thinking about a long game here. But we’ll see as time goes on.
Getting back to the game, holding control points unlocks escalating power-ups, airstrikes, NPC reinforcements, lightsabers, and force abilities. And if I’m being honest, I hadn’t played Battlefront before. So I came in without any nostalgia clouding my glasses. Kuma, however, confirmed it hit the right notes, and while the mechanics have some clunk to them. Watching a teammate go full Palpatine and cackle their way through an enemy formation. It is the kind of moment that makes you forget you’re technically still inside Fortnite. It takes a bit to get into if you’re like me and never played Battlefront before. But I had fun, would definitely recommend the mode!
Fortnite Escape Vader
This one had me in a chokehold, and not entirely in a fun way.
The premise is simple: Four Rebel scavengers drop into a derelict Star Destroyer. They hunt for power cells to unlock a room containing a hidden artifact. And then race back to their ship, all while Darth Vader hunts them down. You can slow him down by blowing up pipes or distract him by shooting at him. But you cannot kill him.
The mode feels very Dead by Daylight in Star Wars clothing. The DNA for it shows in every power cell search and every sudden lurching sprint back to safety.
Improvement in the Force
The pacing was slow, deliberate, and almost punishingly so, and the absence of any real stealth mechanics. This means survival comes down to noise management and luck more than skill. The scanner is a genuinely useful tool once you know how to use it. As you make your way through the ship searching for the fuel cells. And when Vader finally appears, his methodical advance is paired with your own sluggish movement speed. It manufactures a specific, unpleasant anxiety that leaves you. As the player is scrambling in real life, you keep turning. Your character has to look at him to see how far behind he is. My team scrambled, regrouped, and barely made it out. To me, it’s a one-and-done experience. Not something most players will return to, but as a co-op set piece, it works.
Now, since launch, a substantial patch has addressed some of the mode’s rougher edges. And a few of the changes meaningfully shift the experience. Power cell spawns are now randomized, which keeps repeats from feeling like a memorization exercise. The movement speed has been increased for both the players and Vader, which does wonders for the pacing. The syrupy slow slog of earlier plays has been replaced with something that actually builds tension rather than just stretching it. Player health is up too, and teammates can now be revived faster. The lighting has also been overhauled to stay consistently bright across all devices. Which is worth mentioning because the original darkness was genuinely more disorientating than scary.
Player stats have been added too, so if you decide to play it more than once (no judgment here). You can see how many times you or other players have escaped Vader’s clutches!
And lastly, Droid Tycoon
Droid Tycoon runs on the familiar Fortnite tycoon loop: build a small hub, acquire droids, earn currency, reinvest, repeat. The map is pretty expansive, and the tutorial is competent. NPC combat adds a thin layer of variety. And the offline earnings system is a thoughtful touch for players who want a mode to check in on. The problem is that none of it coheres into something compelling. The progression loop reveals its limits quickly, and there isn’t enough external motivation, meaningful objectives, or a reason to care. When there are far more fun and interesting tycoon maps in Fortnite to give this another glance. It’s a mode that knows what it is and delivers exactly that. Which would be fine if what it is were more engaging.
Verdict: 7/10
Fortnite’s Star Wars modes arrive with more ambition than polish, but the ambition is real. Galactic Siege is a legitimate foundation for something great. Escape Vader earns its tension on the strength of a single well-executed premise, and Droid Tycoon is….there.
Epic is clearly playing a long game here, and the first moves are promising enough to warrant watching.
This was a fantastic read, and yes they did a great job on their version of Battlefront Star Wars.