There’s a new feature in Fortnite: Darth Vader is now an AI-powered NPC. If you track him down and defeat him in-game, he joins your party. From there, he’ll fight alongside you, follow your lead, and – thanks to the AI – even chat with you.

mcpheeJnr (7) is absolutely hooked.

Every match now begins with a determined sprint to wherever Darth might be lurking. Forget loot. Forget eliminations. The mission is simple: make friends with Darth Vader.

His early conversations were everything you’d expect from a junior galactic commander:

“Will you defeat all the other players for me?”

Or full-blown arguments like:

“No you’re not – I’m the boss of you!”

But then, just yesterday, as I wandered past the TV, I caught a new tone.
While the Sith Lord and his new apprentice carved a path of destruction through the battlefield, mcpheeJnr paused to ask:

“Do you like fishing?”

Naww. He made friends with the Dark Lord of the Sith – wholesome!