Five years ago, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout was released on August 4, 2020, making way for a new kind of battle royale title. By the time Fall Guys hit the scene, battle royale hits like Fortnite and PUBG had already been around for three years, kickstarting a gaming trend that has just recently begun to die down.
After Fortnite and PUBG amassed huge player numbers, many developers, both major and indie, were in a race to jump on the battle royale bandwagon. Some of these fellow battle royale entries, like Call of Duty: Warzone, still maintain a strong following, but as it is with any trend, not all projects find their audience. When it comes to Fall Guys, though, this fun-loving platform-based offering had unique enough of an angle that it was able to stand out in the crowd.
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Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Shook Up the Battle Royale Genre in a Simple, Yet Effective, Way
A Fresh Free-to-Play Game Arrives at the Height of a Global Pandemic
While the world was deep in the throes of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were several games that became useful as a means to connect with friends and family. With many people around the world unable to gather in person, 2020 was a big year for games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Among Us. Fall Guys being launched right in the middle of this lockdown era gave both longtime gamers and non-gamers another new way to connect with their loved ones and even potentially meet new people.
Beyond the game's ability to connect people, though, Fall Guys' unique approach to the battle royale formula also made it far more accessible to a large variety of gamers. In most cases, battle royale titles tend to be first-person or third-person shooters, and that doesn't suit every player, especially those who were new to gaming at the time. Fall Guys embraced a more cartoonish style of gameplay by pitting players against one another in a series of obstacle courses with minimal controls.
Of course, Fall Guys is far from a simple experience. The game's adorable jelly bean-like characters can be tricky to control, and with each level featuring its own unique obstacle course, some phases of the game can be downright sweat-inducing, despite the title's colorful and playful appearance. Fall Guys being free-to-play also helped it reach a large audience, making it easier for gaming newcomers to be more willing to give it a try.
Fall Guys received four nominations at the 2020 Game Awards. The game took home the award for Best Community Support.
After Fortnite and PUBG amassed huge player numbers, many developers, both major and indie, were in a race to jump on the battle royale bandwagon.
Five Years Later, Fall Guys is Still Kicking
Fall Guys may not be reaching the same player numbers that it was boasting back in 2020, but it has still managed to live on past the initial battle royale craze. Developer Mediatronic is still updating the game fairly regularly, even adding a new Ranked Knockout mode back in April of this year.
After five years, Fall Guys has held its own as a special battle royale title that still maintains many of the staple features expected from the genre, just with a twist. Crossovers with franchises like Death Stranding and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have also helped keep the game alive. It will be interesting to see how Fall Guys fares in the next five years, but as of now, this fun-loving party-friendly battle royale title boasts a legacy of shaking up a major genre while also bringing people together during a dark time.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 80 /100 Critics Rec: 92%
- Released
- August 4, 2020
- ESRB
- E for Everyone
- Developer(s)
- Mediatonic
- Publisher(s)
- Devolver Digital, Epic Games
- Engine
- Unity
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
WHERE TO PLAY
Fall Guys is a free, cross-platform, massively multiplayer, party royale game where you and your fellow contestants compete through escalating rounds of absurd obstacle course chaos until one lucky victor remains!
Rookie or pro? Solo or partied up? Fall Guys delivers ever-evolving, high-concentrated hilarity and fun. The only thing more important than winning is looking as ridiculous as possible while doing it. Grab the silliest costume you can and fall in line — the show's about to start!Tumble between competitive free-for-alls and cooperative challenges — or take on the Blunderdome with up to three friends. Play Fall Guys for free with friends using cross-play, cross-platform parties and cross-progression via your Epic Games account. Choose from a multitude of colors, patterns, costumes and nameplates. Relish wins with voguish celebrations and share your flair with emotes.
Upload into a vast digital domain and take control into your own four-fingered bean hands to create the chaotic course of your dreams. The Blunderdome Construction Crew invites you to discover new ways to play Fall Guys with Fall Guys Creative! Choose from a multitude of colors, patterns, costumes and nameplates. Relish wins with voguish celebrations and share your flair with emotes.
- Genre(s)
- Battle Royale, Party Game, Platformer
