Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is a platform battle royale game developed by Mediatonic and published by Devolver Digital. It was released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 on 4 August 2020. The game is planned for release on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S soon. Up to 60 players control jelly bean-like creatures and compete against each other in a series of challenges, such as obstacle courses or tag. Many different courses have been added since the game was first released; the minority are team-based, while many require not falling into slime on a spinning, floating platform with obstacles designed to knock players in and waiting for a specified number of others to be eliminated, but most are obstacle courses that involve players racing to get to the finish line as soon as possible, lest they are eliminated—starting at 40, there is a limited number of players that can qualify, and with each round as the game progresses, the number lowers, eventually getting down to one, the player who is crowned the winner.

Fall Guys received positive reviews from critics, for its chaotic gameplay and visual appearance. The game draws inspiration from game shows like Takeshi’s Castle, It’s a Knockout, Wipeout, and playground games like tag and British Bulldog. The game has seasonal changes, which adds more challenges and changes the game’s theme. The current and fourth season, named “Fall Guys 4041”, is future-themed with a retro style.

Up to 60 players compete in matches with battle royale-style gameplay. Players, represented as jellybean-like figures, move around a three-dimensional playing field, with additional moves such as jumping, grabbing/climbing, or diving to assist gameplay. The aim is to qualify for subsequent rounds by successfully completing each of the randomly selected mini-games. Certain mini-games involve running towards a finish line at the end of the map, playing tag with other players, while others add elements of teamwork. On every mini-game, obstacles appear around the map for added complexity. Players who are too slow, who fall into pink slime, or who fail certain requirements for a mini-game, are eliminated. On the final round, the remaining few players compete in a final match with a randomised mini-game designed for a smaller player size. The winner of the match is the last player standing.

Using an in-game currency, “Kudos”, players can purchase cosmetics and emotes for their character to show off in-game. Players obtain Kudos by completing matches and get “Crowns” (the premium currency) by winning a match. The game supports microtransactions for the purchase of additional in-game currency. Season 4 added the “Crown Shards” currency, earned by playing in Squad Mode or by completing daily challenges. Crown Shards can be traded for additional Crowns.

New costumes are regularly added, usually for a limited time. Some are of characters from different franchises, such as Gordon Freeman from the Half-Life series, P-Body from Portal 2, Godzilla from its franchise, Scout from Team Fortress 2, Sonic the Hedgehog from his franchise, Doomguy from the Doom series, Jacket from Hotline Miami, Cuphead and Mugman from the videogame Cuphead, or an Astronaut skin with an egg on its head from the game Among Us.

Fall Guys regularly hosts new seasons approximately every 2 months, hosting a new theme and additional content every season. Squad Mode was added in Season 4, where a team of four other players cooperates to earn points, to progress to the next round and earn Crown Shards.