Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Impressions

The year is 2020, the world is in a very strange place. While we mostly remain home being safe we find comfort in things we might normally not. Some pop culture experiences gained alot of traction due to our starvation for entertainment (see: Tiger King). Fall Guys is the best game to happen at the best time.

The gaming industry is FULL of various Battle Royale style games :(Fortnite, Apex, Rogue Company, COD, Etc) did we really need another one? Yes, yes we did. The premise of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is very simple. You and up to 59 other people get dropped down in an obstacle course, and your goal…is get to the end before others. Now of course it’s not that easy, from rotating platforms, to see-saws, and other players trying to throw you down you will have your fair share of challenge. This is how the game is broken down:

The majority of the gameplay in Fall Guys comes from joining a match to play a series of mini-games. Besides the final rounds, which are variants of the main categories built for a smaller group of players, mini-games are categorised into four major sections: races, survival, hunting, and logic. Most mini-games feature obstacles that regularly rotate perpendicular to the ground, such as a rotating platform or a permanently placed large rotating hammer. Platforms may alter the positioning of the player by either following gaming physics or by collapsing. Certain mini-games include elements of teamwork.

Race-based mini-games involve players charging towards the finish line. Once a specified number of players pass the finish line, all remaining players are eliminated. Throughout the obstacle course, numerous permanent obstacles stand in the way, slowing the advancement of reaching the finish line. Large moving obstacles tend to follow against the direction of the finish line, temporarily stopping players who collide against them. Interact able platforms often provide an extra challenge to navigating along the obstacle course. Checkpoints exist across the obstacle course to provide players with another chance to continue the obstacle course.

In survival-based mini-games, players must stay alive for as long as possible until specific conditions are met. Players become automatically eliminated if they fall off the main course or fall into pink slime. Obstacles regularly move around or change as time passes by. Players move around or jump to avoid falling out of the playing field.

During team matches, each group of players are evenly distributed into equal groups and must work together to work towards a common goal, and the group with the lowest score by the end of the round is eliminated. Some of them are variants of existing mini-games, such as “Team Tail Tag”, whereby the eliminated team is the team with the fewest numbers of tails by the end of the time limit. 

Once a certain number of players remain, the final round is played. Each final round mini-game features a unique game format using existing elements of other mini-games. The winner of the match is the last player standing.

The game overall is EXTREMELY fun and great for a quick romp to cleanse the pallet between games or if you only have a short period of time to play. The controls are fairly loose with your character feeling floaty and often falling down (hence Fall Guys). The game shines best when playing with friends, its no coincidence it’s the most viewed game on Twitch right now, it’s a hilarious light hearted experience that gets the adrenaline going while you try to grab the win.

For the try hards, there are levels and cosmetics you unlock the more you play or the more you win. But down at it’s basics, its a game that is just damn fun to play.

I strongly suggest you check it out now, available on PS4 and Steam.