Season 5 was unleashed some seven years ago or thereabouts, and honestly, summer has never really truly blossomed since. The tweet from HYPEX hit the community full of nostalgia. And truly, those days were the golden ones indeed.
The original brief tweet read, “Fortnite Season 5 is now 7 years old (2018). Summer hasn’t been the same since 🥲,” but hold on for a second because the replies were pure emotions. The players flooded the comment section with reminiscing of the good old days, pestering one another with passionate debates, and sometimes even shedding a tear. One commenter, Luffysabyss, begged cosines to say, “Enough to make a grown man cry fr good times🥲.” I give that much credit.
Then came Season 5, marking the rise of Fortnite. It brought in the desert biome, ATKs (All-Terrain Karts), and rifts that throw you across the map. More perhaps is the vibe- the summer of 2018 was the height of Fortnite culture, with people playing it, streaming it live, and just vibing to it. I remember SHRIMP, who, even though he was never an avid fan of the game back then, had to admit, “Even I played Fortnite during this era of the game. And I hated this game favoring pubg at the time.” That’s how big.
Many of those replies sparked some intense discussions around what made the best season. Some swore that the perfect summer was Season 9 of Chapter 1. A few others cast their allegiance for Chapter 2, Season 7. “Cosmetic wise ch2 wins, but any other way, ch1 s9 wins,” Luxsicity said. FuecocoIsBetter shot back: “C2S7 is peak.” And that particular debate will never get resolved anything soon, but there is one thing it has made clear: Everything began with Season 5.
But wait, it’s all about memories from gameplay, with Jo8ephx offering a heartwarming one: “What a throwback, I was playing Fortnite with my son incubating, 7 years later we’re grinding the OG season together.” That is one of many legacies left by Season 5-a game that bonded people together: friends and family; or strangers on the internet.
Of course, no sentimental sentiment appealed to all. They got dragged by such a warm-hearted soul, with _RadiantMind among them. After _RadiantMind bashed the game, ARTIF4CTT went, “Bro couldn’t figure out how to build so now he spends his time fighting bots in tarkov lol.” Ouch, I tell you. But, Season 5 is something haters couldn’t really deny.
How can we forget the Summer Skirmish tournaments? According to a user sylaristheboss, “what a period.” Such first-ever competitive events laid the very foundation for Fortnite’s esports; for many, that was their first high-stake encounter with Fortnite.
So, why does Season 5 still hurt? Maybe that was the real paradise of simplicity: back when the game was still blissfully uncluttered with mechanics, skins, and crossovers. Maybe it’s coming from the heart of nostalgia for a time when life felt rather light. Or maybe, as FarisRiaz1 put it, “Those were the days.” Whatever the cause, there stands one glaring fact: Fortnite Season 5 was no simple season—it was an event in gaming history. To those who lived it, summer really hasn’t been the same since.
