How to enter and complete a Sideways encounter in Fortnite Season 8

There are plenty of new elements in Fortnite Chapter 2 – Season 8 for players to explore and learn. One of the biggest of these new elements is the Sideways, which is similar to the Upside Down from the Netflix show “Stranger Things.” Essentially, players can enter an alternate dimension where Kevin the Cube has returned in waves and spawned Cube Monsters. There’s a solid amount of things to do in the Sideways but the main attractions are collecting high-tier loot and completing certain challenges.

Epic Games has changed up the way players complete weekly challenges in Fortnite Season 8. Unlike previous seasons, there are no more Epic and Legendary Quests. Instead, there are Punchcard quests that are given to players by the season’s NPCs. These NPCs are found all throughout the island and each has a different questline for players to earn XP through.

The NPC that involves the Sideways the most is Torin. They require players to both enter the Sideways and then complete an encounter in the Sideways.

Entering the Sideways in Fortnite

The easiest way to enter the Sideways is through the various portals that are scattered around the map. Players can look for purple rifts around the map and if they find one, can enter it and transport themselves to the Sideways.

The other method of entering the alternate dimension is through Sideways Zones. There is only one of these zones per match but they’re difficult to miss. The zones are big orange and purple bubble-like objects that swirl as players get closer to them and surround an entire POI. Players can enter them just like the rifts. They can also see which POI is taken over by looking at the map before a match. The Sideways Zone is marked by a POIs name changing color.

Completing an Encounter in the Sideways

The next step once players enter the Sideways is to survive an encounter. Torin assigns this quest, so players need to finish their other quests before taking this one on. Once they’ve been assigned the Punchcard quest, though, they can enter the Sideways and find a horde of Cube Monsters to fight.

All players need is a decent weapon or two, plenty of ammo and perhaps some healing items. The Cube Monsters will attack players right away, so they need to be prepared. The monsters attack in waves and players need to survive each one by killing every enemy in front of them.

At the top of the player’s HUD in the Sideways, they’ll see a bar that starts filling up with every wave completed. There are rewards at certain intervals and once players have reached the end of the bar, they’ll have some loot and will also have completed a Sideways encounter. If players don’t kill the waves in time, though, the Sideways will begin to close in.

Upcomer is releasing Fortnite guides regularly this week, so check back to figure out how to dominate Fortnite this season.