Online multiplayer has had its biggest influence over the lifespan of the current console generation. While the titles are growing endless, most have opted to go for the battle royale route lately. Almost every title in that category though involves you or your teammates killing others in your pursuit of being the last one(s) standing. Fall Guys does the exact opposite, and ops for a family-friendly approach to its winner take all formula. With its game show presentation and silly-putty looking characters, it sets itself apart from the competition.
Gameplay
Fall Guys’ execution of its game show battle royale is done with so many varying types of game modes. It takes heavy inspiration from the physical game shows we see on tv. You and 60 other players will compete to see who will outlast the events that unfold ahead. Passing through each stage only ups the stakes by eliminating players in more brutal events.
Each “show” is comprised up of about five rounds give or take with the final round crowning the winner. All game types no matter the style will strain your agility from start to finish. Most of the game modes will be free for all but you’ll have to team up with fellow competitors at times to take down the rest. It’s kind of like the saying, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.
The single-player modes include but are not limited to obstacle courses, memory games, and games that test your reflexes. You’ll be able to respawn at checkpoints in most rounds as you’re on courses suspended in the sky. Others take a floor is lava technique by eliminating you immediately upon touching the pink goo below. A tactic I used in the instant elimination rounds was to grab people and push them off of the platforms. It may be mean but it gets results.
Besides solo games, there are team-based ones. Included in this is a Rocket League homage where you play a crazy soccer game with huge sports balls bouncing all over the field. There are variations of tag, a ball rolling course, and a couple of others to change up the formula. The team ones are good but they weren’t my favorite because I had to rely on other players to carry their weight to help the team. They normally don’t so this is usually the stage in which I rage most.
The game reserves three special events to serve as the finale and those are some of the best ones. One is a regular course where everyone races to grab the crown at the top of it. If you remember Guts from Nickelodeon, this is like running up the Aggro Crag at the end of each episode. Another mode has every contestant try to keep a hold of a tail and the one holding it when the timer goes off wins. My absolute favorite game is the Hex-A-Gone one by far. It has you running over tiles causing them to disappear as you step across. It’s fun because everyone shares the same arena as you so it gives you a chance to personally eliminate other players. Can’t go anywhere if there’s nowhere to go.
The game offers a pretty deep customization menu for cosmetics. You can change your skin color and add patterns to it. There’s a ton of funny clothes to unlock and gestures too. It’s like Halloween all year round playing this game. Of course, there’s a shop to buy more of these items that swap out every day. Every day I had gone to the shop it had at least one item I felt compelled to purchase.
Items can be purchased with tokens and crowns that you are awarded by leveling up through each season. Leveling up for the season is easy as every round you play racks up XP points and tosses some tokens your way too. Yes, there’s a season pass but this game gives it to you for free! Each season allows you to unlock even more things within it to deck out your character for the show.
They did a great job of having each mode feel different from one another. The game is incredibly enjoyable and I can’t stop playing it. Another thing that is a plus for me is the fact that each show isn’t super long. You can get through one in under twenty minutes. As someone with only so much time, this is a warm surprise.
Visuals
Man oh man, are the visuals vibrant in this game. It honestly looks like something you’d see from Nintendo and that’s a compliment. Everything is colorfully done with a high amount of energy to it. Through the unlockable costumes and color schemes, it’s an endless pit of melted-down crayons to work with. Kids specifically will love to play this game because of its art style. It’s nice to see such a cheery-looking game come out in such a gloomy point in time.
Audio
The sound in-game is done well with these silly-putty looking characters making their gibberish noises. Environmental sounds are great and cartoony with a springiness to them. Music is zany and does its job at pumping you up for an event.
Replayability
With its abundance of customization options, there’s always a reason to keep playing. That factor is strengthened by the addition of its season pass. The gameplay is fun and bombastic which offers some diversity to the bloated genre.
What It Could Have Done Better
Unfortunately, while the game is an incredible experience, it did launch with server issues. I still have issues getting into games and losing connection as well as a couple of bugs stemming from it. The reason here was the fact that they hadn’t prepared for so many players to be online at once.
I’m surprised that they hadn’t taken into account a large base of players for Playstation. At launch, the game was free for Playstation Plus subscribers. Had there been some foresight about the server capacity, this could’ve been avoided altogether. It is a testament to how fun the game is that it has such a steady stream of players.
Verdict
Fall Guys is a game with a ton of fun packed in every pore of its being. Unfortunately, its launch was hindered by its server problems. Looking past the issues is a gorgeous game that I have a lot of love for. I appreciated being able to play a quick game or two in my free time, without being tied up for too long. This is a game with a long life-span ahead of it and I plan to be there along the way.
