Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout review – the most fun you can have for £15
IF you enjoy fun, have friends or family, or have any kind of soul at all, you need to play Fall Guys immediately.
This smash-hit game has only been out for a month, but is already an unstoppable cultural phenomenon.
For the unaware, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is a cartoonish obstacle-based battle royale.
It’s basically the video game version of classic TV show Takeshi’s Castle.
A game will consist of 5 rounds, and starts off with 60 players.
But as rounds go by, players are steadily eliminated until just one victor remains.
There are a few dozen different round types, so every game feels different and fresh.
Some of the rounds are simple and gameshow-familiar.
One has you all charging through a series of giant pink doors, but only some of them open.
You could be a front-runner, but one smash into a false door and you may end up being left behind in the unqualifying horde.
Other rounds incorporate spinning surfaces and rotating bars designed to fling you into the void.
There’s a football-style round where you play as teams, head-butting giant balls that fall from the sky.
And my favourite is Hexa-gone, where you and others desperately scramble to avoid a death-fall by running across platforms that constantly fall away.
Some rounds (like Slime Climb) are more challenging than others.
But the key is that they’re all different enough to keep you engaged and entertained.
Perhaps my only niggle is that getting a team-based round can feel unfair.
The game is designed around you guiding yourself to victory, but being on a less-than-stellar team can lead to you being denied glory – even if you yourself played well.
Still, all of the team games are great fun, so you’ll never stay frustrated for long.
I dare say Fall Guys is impossible not to like.
The crushing feeling of defeat is helped by the fact that against 59 other minions, you’ll rarely come last.
And the speed at which you overtake opponents and race through rounds creates a constant feeling of reward.
Besides, it’s hard to have a bad time when you’re hopping around dressed like a purple pigeon.
Importantly, the barrier to entry is extremely low.
My mum isn’t a gamer, but she managed to successfully navigate Fall Guys courses – and even had fun.
That wouldn’t be true for many of today’s most popular games, like Fortnite or Call of Duty.
The cartoony graphics might make this look like it’s for the kids, but this really is fun for all the family.
And the brilliance is that even if you’re watching a pal scramble for victory, it’s just as fun as playing yourself.
You’ll find yourself screaming at the TV as your kids, mates or Twitch streamers clumsily navigate the tricky obstacles.
There are loads of customisations to unlock – think hot-dog outfits, robot cat suits and french fry hats.
And new features are being added constantly, like the new Big Yeetus hammer that will spawn during rounds – and “yeet” you across the map.
The best bit? This endlessly fun game only costs £15.99, so it could be the best gaming bargain of the year.
The Sun says: Arguably the most fun game of 2020, with a low barrier to entry and huge replayability. 5/5
The Sun reviewed this game using a Dell Alienware Aurora R10 Ryzen Edition Gaming Desktop.
- Alienware Aurora R10 Ryzen Edition Gaming Desktop at Dell – buy here
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In other news, check out our guide to the PS5 release date – plus prices, games and more.
We’ve also written all-you-need-to-know explainers on the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
And you’ll definitely want to find out about one of this year’s biggest upcoming games: Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War.
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