The Popularity and Potential of ‘Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout’

Indie multiplayer game Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout– from developers Mediatonic and publishers Devolver Digital- has been causing quite a stir since its release two days ago. Despite some issues with crashing servers on release day (it’s an indie title that had a sudden surge of players due to it being released for free in the PlayStation Store. It’s to be expected), the game has been praised for its last man standing premise in the style of game shows like Takeshi’s Castle and Ninja Warrior as well as it’s superbly silly and fun game play. I have been having a great time with this game and whilst I have yet to win a the crown (I was down to the last three in one game. Victory was almost within my grasp), I’ve had such a great experience.Whilst playing, I couldn’t help but ponder on the potentials of this kind of game. If Fall Guys continues its success, where could a series like this go? So of course with thoughts like these, a blog post is born! Let’s have a look at the possibilities of Fall Guys and what exactly the game is.

Is It Just A Battle Royale? Well Yes, But Also No

The premise of Fall Guys seems a little familiar to some other hugely successful video games out there (you know the one I mean) when summing it up. A large online fight that lasts until there is only one person remaining. That is where the similarities to the battle royale genre mostly end- except for cosmetics but I’ll get to that later. The rest of game is a lot more wholesome. Rather then hunting down your enemies and slaughtering them one by one until you are the last surviving player, Fall Guys is more of a lighthearted competition. The player jumps into a game and become one of 60 players. Once in, the players are put to the test through a series of obstacle course mini games with those trailing behind, falling from a platform or failing a task due to lack of cooperation with their team (there are a few team based mini games too) being eliminated. A simple premise taken from various game shows, but it works incredibly well. So is it a battle royale? Not in the traditional sense. Technically, I suppose it is in that you play to be the last player left. But the way you go about it is a lot more family friendly. No head shots at least. With the world in the state it is presently, some wholesome and non violent Fall Guys fun is more than a little appreciated.

What the Future Could Hold (Despite the Fact it Only Came Out Two Days Ago)

Fall Guys is a lot of fun to play when you feel like having a laugh. It’s the little things that can make you smile. For me, it’s the adorably hilarious running animations of each players avatar or the mayhem as thirty players try to scramble through one door or keep a see saw steady. These kinds of small details had me in hysterics. There is no doubting the games charm and sweet nature. But the gaming industry is always about what is next and how a franchise can be expanded. Depressing but true. Fortunately, Fall Guys has a lot of potential to go places. It has several similarities with popular franchises such as Mario Party with the additional benefit of massive online multiplayer options which is a huge bonus. It’s not pay to win (though you can choose to optionally pay for cosmetics for your avatar) it’s easily accessible and the potential for customisation of avatars- via the aforementioned cosmetics like costumes and various patterns and colours- could be huge. There’s also the matter of the mini games themselves. The amount of mini games that could be added to Fall Guys is pretty endless, depending on the creativity of the development team.What could be done with the game is immense and hopefully the popularity it is receiving will only add to the possibility of achieving such expansion.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is an achievement of no small feat. Indie developers Mediatonic have created a game full of character that is super fun to play and packed with potential. Like I mentioned before, the game was so popular that the servers had to be shut for a while. Now that is an impressive start, particularly for an indie title. Fall Guys is currently in its first season so hopefully improvements and even more fun mini games and competitions could be in the pipeline. A massive well done to everyone at Mediatonic and Devolver Digital for their fantastic launch and may we be playing Fall Guys for a long time to come!