Don't get me wrong, I understand the appeal of not having to pass a single controller around between you and your friends in order for everyone to enjoy the gaming experience. I mean, I presume, anyway.
I've never really had that many friends.
However, Devolver Digital (who you might remember as the publishers of the much beloved BroForce) decided to take this game - Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout - developed by Mediatonic (most notable previously for Bookworm, Bejeweled 2, and Diner Dash) and put it up for sale to the general public on Playstation 4 and Microsoft Windows so that everyone can get their multiplayer itched scratched and scratched until they're bleeding raw.
It's a massive multiplayer game in which you take on the role of a bipedal version of one the Shy Guys from Mario and put onto various obstacle courses from American Ninja Warrior.
Okay, that's not really fair. There are actually some good points to it, which I'll get into. As I said before, you have an avatar that is some sort of humanoid blob that you can customize to a certain degree in different colors and patterns as well as (once you've unlocked them) entire outfits. These seem to do all of nothing beyond aesthetics and I wouldn't be able to tell myself apart from several of the other up to 60 competitors if it weren't for my PSN name floating daintily over the head of my avatar.
After a loading screen disguised by your avatar falling down to the Earth like this was some sort of Battle Royale mode, you are placed in one of several different games provided your connection doesn't time out upon trying to start a game. Given that this is only the second day it's been out to the public, such is to be expected or so I'm told.
The games are where my American Ninja Warrior comparison comes in, seeing as most of them are "get to the finish line and avoid all the obstacles". Of course, you also have to contend with the other 59 people running all over you and one another to try and get there. I get the feeling that Fall Guys is supposed to a party game and it is fun, ultimately. It's also rather like the Running of the Bull in Spain...from the perspective of being one of 60 people who overate and find themselves with two broken feet right before the bulls are set loose.
You move at a rapid waddle, but it's still a waddle and not exactly the best at maneuverability, which can be a real pain in the ass on more than one occasion (such as the rolling log challenge). Perhaps that's part of the challenge and if it were just me or me and some bots attempting these courses, then maybe I could see it. The entire thing is an utter, chaotic mess. It doesn't seem to have any sort of skill required to it beyond some timing here and there. Even that is a guarantee of nothing given random chance and anarchy that the element of other players brings in.
You might say "Oh, Madcap! Look at you complaining about a game being hard!", but allow me to blow your mind in that I'm not saying the game is hard. Yes, some of the challenges are a little coconut and arsenic sandwich crazy, but I also managed to get within the top 50% in several of the matches that I was in and entirely by accident, too. It's completely arbitrary.
That doesn't mean it's bad. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is a game that has a lot of color and flair to it. It's not afraid to let it's freak flag fly proudly and announce to the world exactly what it is: a party game. It's also a honey trap for micro transactions, but never in the way that you'd think where something would improve your chances at winning the game, or indeed anything where I was able to change anything like that.
But hey...different colors! That's totally worth paying for!
I find it strange that that there isn't an offline multiplayer mode, though I suppose it would be a hassle to hook 59 other controllers up to the Playstation 4.
There's a leveling system, you get awarded points that unlock other cosmetics and items with which to buy cosmetics. Also, emotes, which are apparently a thing. I dunno, maybe I'm just not in big with the Zoomer crowd. Maybe bright colors and funky sounds that mask the repetitive motions is enough. After all,
But no, despite the snark of my opening, this isn't a bad multiplayer experience. Granted, I'm still blanking on what is a good multiplayer experience, so I guess I'm breaking even. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is good mindless entertainment for what it is worth.
Psst, hey, Devolver Digital! Get Free Lives and make Broforce 2 happen! I brolieve in you!
...I'm not apologizing for that pun until the game happens.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is brought to us by Mediatonic and Devolver Digital for Playstation 4 and Microsoft Windows.
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.
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