From the first moment it is clear that Fortnite is taking things less seriously than Battlegrounds. The graphic style is cartoony and is reminiscent of the style of games such as Team Fortress. That automatically puts the emphasis on gaming fun. The cheerful, bright colors give the game a completely different look than PUBG, which has a much grayer color scheme. This makes it difficult to compare the games in the field of graphics. The fact is, however, that PUBG is about realistic images - and that is far from short - while Fortnite keeps things simpler. A cartoon style is generally the safer choice, so in that sense developer Epic Games plays some more safe.
Yet such a style is not worth anything if the content of the game does not match it. Epic Games fortunately does not make that mistake. In the game world and in the gameplay all kinds of elements can be found that demonstrate the same airy character as the graphics. Just the fact that players are dropped on the island via a party bus hanging under a hot air balloon ... wonderful. The way in which the characters in the game move and how they jump shows that Fortnite certainly does not take itself too seriously.
Yet the game is indeed serious. A rather profound game is hidden under the airy, playful character. The biggest difference in content between PUBG and Fortnite is the 'destructability' of a part of the game world and the possibility of building new objects with the materials you collect. That changes the gameplay. You can demolish the roofs and walls of most buildings, and objects can also be demolished indoors. By demolishing you collect stone, wood and metal, and with it you can build walls, stairs, platforms and even traps. A rock or roof that was previously unavailable can be reached with a self-built staircase. That provides quite a bit of dynamics in the gameplay.
That gameplay seems in terms of operation especially on PUBG. Everyone parachutes to an island, searches for weapons and then fights each other in an increasingly smaller circle. Of course there are differences at the detailed level. For example, you can bring more weapons in Fortnite but do not collect armor, although you can find a potion that produces a shield. There are no vehicles, so you have to do everything on foot, but the island is also a lot smaller than that of PUBG, so that does not bother. Because of that smaller scale, the jars also run faster. In Fortnite you are often on 50 remaining players within a minute, and after a ten minute or so you've reached the top 10. That, too, connects with that airy character. They are pots that you can play quickly in between, while the time of a good pot of PUBG is already in the half hour.
That can also be a negative point for those looking for real tension. We hardly felt that in Fortnite. Because the jars have ended so quickly and the gameplay feels less serious, we never experienced the ultimate tension PUBG knows. Partly because of this, PUBG will also develop into a serious competitive game. That is not bad. Battle Royale in Fortnite is mainly meant to entertain gamers, and the game certainly succeeds. What also helps is that the game runs stably. There are still a lot of features missing, such as leaderboards and stats, but the game runs smoothly. That is the most important.