“Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout” is game developer Mediatonic’s newest hit. The game sports a cute and childish theme while combining the styles of Battle Royale and Platformer games. Fall Guys is already breaking records and has taken social media by storm. Although it is only available on PS4 and PC, it still has a massive playerbase. 

The objective of the game is to be the last player standing among 50 to 60 other players. The player competes in five rounds of various obstacle courses and challenges. A small fraction of players are eliminated after each round. Those who finish first or survive the longest “qualify” for the next round. As the game progresses and the lobby gets smaller, the games become more challenging with less spots for qualification. The game features 24 different mini games for the players to compete in. The game modes range from far too easy to incredibly difficult. A majority of game modes are platforming levels, which involve the character parkouring from place to place to reach the end of the level. There is also a wide selection of team-based mini games, where the remaining players are split into two to four teams. At the end of these games, the bottom ranking team is eliminated, incentivising good teamwork as well as sabotage. The highly competitive environment makes for an energetic and entertaining experience.

Although I love Fall Guys, I have spotted several major issues with the game. There are several broken mechanics that have yet to be fixed and cause the game to be more difficult to enjoy. A good example of this is the tail mechanic in the Team Tail Tag, Individual Tail Tag and Royale Fumble mini games. The goal of these mini games is to hold a tail until the time limit is reached. The player is capable of stealing a tail from an opposing player if they are within arms reach. However, the range appears to be bugged. The tail can be grabbed from much further than arms reach. Additionally, the characters can be practically touching and the tail will not be stolen. A patch was released to fix this issue, but I have still noticed these problems occurring regularly. 

Despite the issues, Fall Guys is one of the most loveable games I’ve played in awhile. The rounds are a perfect amount of time to still be engaging and addicting without feeling too short. Additionally, the art style is adorable. The playable characters have jelly bean bodies and short, stubby legs. Their arms are disproportionately long and hang behind them as they run, creating a hilarious running style. On top of the art style, the stages are colorful and unique. Because of this, the player is rarely bored by the mini game.

Another thing Fall Guys has done right is the cosmetic system. After each round, you earn kudos based on how well you did in the previous round. If you are the last person standing, the game gives you an additional reward, a crown. Both kudos and crowns can be spent in the item shop on different outfits or color schemes for the character. Kudos can be bought as well as earned but crowns cannot be bought. This game is one of few that offers the battle pass for free, giving most of the cosmetics away to the player. The battle pass levels up based on how many kudos you earned in each game and awards a cosmetic item for each level.

When it’s all said and done, I highly recommend Fall Guys. It provides a super fun and entertaining experience for the player. The levels have a large range of difficulties making each game different and interesting. Although it has its issues, the playful color scheme and cute graphics make the game impossible to hate.

Image Credit: https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiedosto:FallGuys.jpg