Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is an indie multiplayer party game developed by Mediatonic and published by Devolver digital. It was released Aug. 4 and features mini games that put players in a free-for-all struggle until there is one victor remaining.
The game costs $20 and can be purchased on the PlayStation 4 store or Steam for computers.
The game has been well-received, with a 79% score on Steam and four out of five stars on the PlayStation store. Aside from the praise surrounding the game, it has also received attention for its characters’ height. Looking at a fall guy, it’s logical to assume they’re small sized characters. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Devolver and Mediatonic, stated on Twitter that they’re a little taller than six feet. Yikes.
Uncomfortable imagery aside, my experience with the game was good. I played on my PS4 and found myself making it to the later levels in the game quite often. Fall Guys game genres differ. In race games, the player’s goal is to reach the finish line first. Survival games push players to survive for a certain amount of time. Hunting games require players to find and keep desired objects. Logical games challenge players to remember the location of pictures. Team games put players in the red, blue or (cursed) yellow teams to compete against each other. The final round can come from any genre of these games.
As players advance, they win experience points that can go toward costumes, swatches, crowns or kudos, the game’s online currency. If players can’t wait to earn kudos, they can buy them in bundles.
The game is easy to play. The controls are simple to pick up, so novices can jump right in with experienced players.
My favorite part of the game is its unpredictability. In one level, Fruit Chute, the goal is to make it up a conveyor belt while giant fruits are thrown at you. My Fall Guy had barely stepped one foot on the conveyor belt when he was hit in the face with an apple. My character couldn’t regain his footing, so he fell off the conveyor belt into the slime below. This happened about four times and it was hilarious.
At times, it didn’t matter how focused I’d been; there’s moments where chance beats skill. Often, I breezed through levels effortlessly just to have my Fall Guy’s foot get stuck or miss a jump because the seesaw suddenly tilted too much. All I could do was helplessly watch the opponent I was chasing, dash out of my reach as time ran out. screamed the feeling of defeat for being eliminated is real, but so is the feeling of qualifying. That’s what makes the game good. Crowns can be won by skill, but some are won by chance too.
I didn’t have any favorite minigames, but there were some that filled me with dread when they popped on screen.
Slime Climb was one of them. The goal in that game is to get through the obstacle course before the rising slime touches your character. For me, that game was a death sentence. There were too many times where I’d make it to a safe distance from the slime, but wasn’t able to hop to the nearest platform on time or would have another player sabotage me. In my opinion, it is the worst level in the entire game.
One thing to consider about the game is the price. There were complaints on Steam about the pricing because the game offers a limited amount of minigames, and once players have become comfortable, they may lose charm. Also, PS players should factor in the price of PlaystationNow because it is required to play online with other people.
I say $20 is fair. Note that the game had a mid-season update and season two is set to come out soon. Most games cost more than $20 and they don’t have updates.
Overall, I’d say the game is a fun way to spend leisure time. It’s not complex and players get the occasional laugh because the gameplay is the opposite of serious. I rate this game 3 picks out of 5.
Exodis Ward may be reached at [email protected]; @alexodislee on Twitter.
