Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is a unique addition to the competitive gaming market. While some say that the MOBA and PvP battle arena genres are becoming more and more oversaturated with now dozens of multiplayer options to choose from, Fall Guys stands out, completely different in playstyle from the rest.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout pits jelly bean-shaped characters against one another in rounds, mimicking the obstacle television game shows such as Wipeout and Ninja Warrior. With several different challenges and stages that the servers will randomly choose from, players must either race to the finish or survive until the time runs out. Starting with 60 players and eliminating more and more with each round, stealing other player's tails, avoiding slime and moving blocks, and scoring goals in a wackier version of soccer are all different non-combative challenges available in Fall Guys.
Fall Guys is a Little Different, Not Fully Battle Royale but Not Fully Anything Else
While Overwatch launches its Summer Games 2020 event, Fall Guys offers a much sillier and non-violent arena-style competition, all while keeping the game wholly addictive. In the perfect representation of chaotic energy, it not only offers fun and lighthearted competition but is also very family-friendly. While Riot and Blizzard try to control trolls and players with anger issues, it doesn't quite cover toxic users on voice chat. Currently with Fall Guys, however, there's no option for this, or for any chat at all. The option to toggle visible usernames also exists, creating a much friendlier atmosphere that encourages healthier communication. Though, some inevitable griefing still exists in the online world of Fall Guys.
The game has only just launched and has many areas to improve upon, not to mention Fall Guys causing PS4 servers to fail, but players are getting really amped up over the adorable skins and costumes currently available. If the game wasn't already addicting enough, costumes can be purchased with kudos that is either won during battles or purchased with real money. Costume and skin options are also provided through level milestones, further motivating players to continuously jumping into matches.
These rewards are earmarked by competition seasons in true battle royale fashion. For the first season of Fall Guys, the cap is set at 40 levels, including 40 unique rewards such as patterns, theatrics, and kudos. The latter, along with experience points called "fame," is earned through playing and winning matches. Kudos and crowns, earned by winning final matches, are used to purchase in-game items like the coveted pineapple and hotdog costumes. Fame levels the player up. It's a simply sweet system that encourages gamers to push play on more and more competitive matches.
Fall Guys Hit Big On Day One
Fall Guys has also been immensely fun to watch, whether it's watching a roommate play or online personalities, which has helped many Twitch streamers see great success with Fall Guys. As the esports scene continues to rage in popularity, it's quite possible that, if the hype over the little beans continues, Fall Guys could also cross over into the pro-gaming world at some point. Though it mainly focuses on PvP battle titles like League of Legends and Fortnite, some other non-combative games like Hearthstone and Rocket League have found a home in the esports community. Fall Guys already hit over 120,000 concurrent players, the official Twitter page previously announced, meaning that it's not outlandish to think it might enter the esports scene in the future.
Though Fall Guys is getting slightly review-bombed on Steam due to the server issues, this will ultimately make Mediatonic improve the game for user experience, and it does signify a positive. So many players are attempting to get in on the fun that the servers are intermittently failing. It is an indie studio getting AAA attention, after all. Once Mediatonic improves the networking permanently, its newest battle royale-esque title might just be one of the biggest hits of 2020.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is out now for PC and PS4.