I usually like to play story-driven single-player games, so historically my experience with multiplayer shooters isn’t the best. Even though all of my friends are good at Fortnite, it took me literally two years before I gained a solo victory at the game!
If you usually don’t like battle royale shooters, you’ll be happy to know something different has been released recently for PC and PS4 owners. This new game adds a fresh spin to the battle royale genre because it doesn’t involve shooting or violence of any kind.
The new game I am talking about is Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. The game is now available to play via Steam on PC and is currently free-to-play on PS4 this month if you are a PlayStation Plus subscriber.
The main thing that makes this game so fun and unique is because it’s like a game show. If you have seen obstacle course game shows like Wipeout, Ninja Warrior or even The Titan Games, you’ll probably have an idea on what Fall Guys is about.
At the start of the game, up to 60 players enter the first mini-game and only one winner is crowned at the very end. You usually have to play four or five mini-games in a row before you can call yourself a winner.
Some of the mini-games vary in size and difficulty and everything is chosen at random. When I first played the game, I was involved in a race where you had to cross the finish line. Crossing the finish line is easier said than done because a lot of obstacles and traps that stand in your way.
For example, there is one mini-game where a lot of giant fruit can bulldoze you over and pretty much kill your character. If you fall off the platform, you have to start the course all over again. Usually, only 40 or fewer players are able to go to the next round. If you are too slow, you will be eliminated.
Another mini-game that you can play is called ‘See Saw’. This is arguably the hardest mini-game in Fall Guys because you need to cross the finish line without falling off. This is easier said than done because the weight of all the players causes the see-saws to sway heavily to one side!
Outside of races, there are even some mini-games where you are forced to play in teams. All teams are selected at random so you cannot choose who you want to pair up with. Some team games include you needing to collect eggs, grab tails and more.
Some of the team games can be annoying though because you cannot predict how good your teammates might be. I played a string of team games and lost every time because my team and I weren’t good at the tasks.
If you manage to survive all of the previous mini-games, a winner is crowned in the final game called ‘Fall Mountain’. Fall Mountain is the ultimate obstacle course where the last contestants have to race to literally grab the crown and win the entire game.
Even though it took me two years to win a solo match in Fortnite, I’m glad to say my luck in Fall Guys is much better. I managed to win two games so far in the first week of playing it. My brother was even luckier because he won the first game he ever played!
As a whole, there are 24 mini-games in rotation and they all vary in difficulty. Some games are enjoyable, while others I always dread to see. That being said, all of the mini-games are accessible and you don’t need to learn much in terms of getting used to their control schemes.
The only annoying thing that can happen is if other players knock you over. Since there are so many players at one time, there are some moments where others you bump into you. There are even some evil trolls out there that grab you and prevent you from crossing the finish line! However, this doesn’t happen all the time but it’s annoying when you see these types of players.
Another thing some players may not like about the game is that there are no offline multiplayer modes. This game would have been super fun if I was able to play with my family, but you can only play against other people online.
In terms of its launch week, the status of online services has been inconsistent. There have been times where I couldn’t find a game, while another time I was booted out of the gameplay. Things have improved over the last few days, but be sure to know it’s not always perfect while you’re playing online-only games.
Visually, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout features nice and bright colours that even my mother can enjoy. You also control some chubby looking jelly bean characters and it’s always funny to see them run and jump. You can even customise the look of your own character using the in-game currency you can earn while you progress. Alternatively, you can also buy points using real money if you really want to…
As a whole, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is a fun party game that the whole family can enjoy. Thanks to its accessible nature, you don’t even have to be good at video games to have fun with it. Just bear in mind, there’s no offline modes at the moment so you’ll have to endure the network outages.
Verdict: 8.5/10
