Fortnite's Rift Tour is over, moving into the Post-Rift Tour Challenges.
Epic Games has not released the stats on how many people actually showed up to the event in total.
With five dates the view the event, it will be interesting to see the breakdown of how many people registered for each event, how many people showed up to each event, and how many people watched it overall.
I recently wrote that I had no interest in the Rift Tour and was only attended to receive the free Cuddle Team Leader-themed umbrella rewarded to those who attend.
Fire up the grill, and it is time for me to eat some crow.
I mean, you can fry it, too.
I do not mind at all.
Fortnite's Rift Tour Was Amazing
Having just finished eating dinner with the family, I arrived in the Fortnite lobby an hour before the event started.
You know, just in case the servers got bogged down.
Around 30 minutes before starting, the event opened up for players, placing them on a Party Saucer with a few interesting things to keep players busy.
You could activate a few special abilities to fly around or skate on ice blocks.
There were holographic projectors that would let players display giant versions of themselves so they could emote for all to see.
I was able to get the largest Choo Choo train going than I ever had before.
With so many players joining in, it was hard to tell where the train began and ended.
It was relaxing and a great way to unwind a bit with my fellow Fortnite fans.
Around 15 minutes before the show began, I kicked back on a lawn chair and went about my business until the show started.
I was not expecting what happened next.
The Rift Tour Experience Begins
The event began with a giant rectangular rift opening in the center of the Party Saucer that sucked everyone into it.
After a brief sequence of flying through a tunnel with images of Fortnite-to-come, a giant version of my current skin, Marigold, greeted beckoned me into a ball of light.
Then came the surfing.
Listening to Come & Go, players were able to surf a half pipe, collecting orbs and golden wraps, the latter of which would change the pattern of the halfpipe.
Soon after, we were bouncing on a giant Cuddle Team Leader head, Sia's vocals in Audio playing in the background.
Then we were in bi-plane, Wolfmother's Victorious playing, fighting the Storm King, racking up points to see which of the four members on the plane could get the highest score.
It was a total blast.
There was even a touching scene where every player revived another player before moving on to the main event.
Enter Ariana, Grande
At this point, the event proper started, with a grande version of Ariana entering the scene.
Five different Ariana Grande songs played as players bounced in bubbles, raced flying llamacorns, and following a giant Ariana up a set of stairs before she took an enormous 7 Rings Hammer to the world and sent everyone sprawling.
The final scene allowed players to bounce and fly around a giant crystal stage as Ariana flew around an even larger version of herself, reaching for that giant hammer again, sending players back through the Rift to the Island.
The songs from the event:
- “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande
- “Be Alright” by Ariana Grande
- “R.E.M.” by Ariana Grande
- “The Way” by Ariana Grande feat. Mac Miller
- “Positions” by Ariana Grande
As the event wrapped up, Epic gave players the chance to earn a good amount of XP by flying llamacorns around the skies of Apollo Island, earning 200XP for every rainbow ring they flew through.
This went on for a while before they finally kicked players back to the lobby.
The whole event was around 10 minutes long and fully interactive.
The End
Once I was back in the lobby, I received my fancy new Umbrella.
Honestly, I was a bit shocked.
I was not expecting the Rift Tour to be as epic as it allowed players to experience the "concert" in such an interactive and cinematic way.
I cannot imagine the amount of time Epic must have spent on the event or the amount of backend infrastructure needed to run everything so smoothly.
From what I have heard, there were not many issues of people not being able to get in and participate in the event, nor were there really any major hangups in its execution.
Well done, Epic.
Well done.
Now I'm going to dig into this crow.