It's that day of the year again, and cue the Star Wars puns because May 4 is here. The Force is strong in 2026, with the gripping finale of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord landing on Disney+, the House of Mouse gearing up for the release of The Mandalorian & Grogu on May 22, and so much more.
The Star Wars IP has never really gone away, but with The Rise of Skywalker being the last theatrical release back in 2019, we've been facing something of a drought. That's all set to change when the fan-favorite The Mandalorian leaps to the silver screen, with other upcoming releases including the Ryan Gosling-led Star Wars: Starfighter in 2027 and a new outing for Daisy Ridley's Rey, as well as hopeful updates on the likes of James Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi and Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron.
Alongside Disney parks themselves and LEGO, Epic Games' Fortnite is one place you're sure to find a May 4 celebration. This year is no different, as alongside the usual raft of returning skins and Star Wars-themed missions, gaming fans can make the most of a trio of new maps from Epic. Joining the 10v10 "Galactic Siege" and "Droid Tycoon" sim, "Escape Vader" is causing a rumble in the Force.
What is Escape Vader?
Escape Vader is a four-player horror co-op that offers something a little different from your classic Fortnite experience. It's not that the game hasn't dabbled in horror before, but let's be honest, your average Fortnitemares collab isn't known for sending pulses racing.
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It's true that the typically family-friendly game has included skins for everyone from Halloween's Michael Myers to Saw's Billy the Puppet, but in terms of official horror modes, Escape Vader is a first. The general idea is that you and your squad have to try and escape a derelict Star Destroyer as the raspy Sith lord chases you around. Speaking to Variety, Escape Vader's Kasper Weber explained: "When we started brainstorming about this experience, we wanted to create something bold, and we wanted to be a little bit different.
"This is why we landed on doing something horror, because we realised that we all had in common this very twisted childhood question that we all had in our minds when watching the original movies and the sequels – ‘How would it feel to be chased by Vader in some of those iconic ship corridors? How would it be to feel his wrath?"
It's not hard to see where the inspiration came from here, with Escape Vader looking like it's taken a leaf out of Creative Assembly's book when it created Alien: Isolation.
For many, the 2014 survival horror is the scariest game ever made, with some being unable to complete it because being stalked through vents by Xenomorphs is simply too terrifying.
While we don't think Escape Vader is quite giving Alien: Isolation a run for its money in that department, it should at least remind us why Creative Assembly's OG was so great ahead of the sequel's eventual release.
Fortnite fans have a problem with Escape Vader
Escape Vader is admittedly ambitious, but over on Reddit, some fans are claiming that they can't play because it's making them dizzy. Posting on the Fortnite subreddit, one person wrote: "Me and my gf love Star Wars and Darth Vader but she can’t play it cause that point of view and generally most other first-person views make her very dizzy to the point of making her sick/puke…
“I don’t usually get sick but the view in that game mode paired with slanted floors makes me a bit dizzy as well."
The OP says they wrote to Epic about the issue, with another adding: "I always find first-person games to be disorienting. Literally just tried this game and...I don't know. I love Star Wars, but between this one and Galactic Siege, I'm not having a great time."
A third complained: "I can't play first-person games, they make me ill within a handful of seconds and the effect lasts for like an entire day, forcing me to go sleep off the motion sickness for hours.
“Literally impossible for me to play games like Cyberpunk or Alien Isolation, and this is just the same."
Other critics claim that Escape Vader is just another cheap cash-in on the hype of May 4, but come on, give Epic Games some credit for at least trying to do something a big different.