Fall Guys is fun, but it’s also an immense pain in the ass. I feel its important to open with that because a lot of you are going to get this game – it’s the hot new party game, after all, and no doubt all your friends are playing it.
So you need to know you will absolutely love/hate this game going in.
You can blame Mediatonic for the bittersweet experience you’re going encounter, and rue Devolver Digital for publishing this enjoyable mess. Recently released for the Playstation 4 and Steam, Fall Guys is a Battle Royale unlike any others you may have experienced. Yes, it has the whacky, over-saturated aesthetics of Fortnite, but there’s no guns here.
Instead, the premise is your adorable, very-customisable jellybean is a participant on a Takeshi’s Castle style reality TV show called Fall Guys. You and 60 others will compete for survival in a series of obstacle courses and physical challenges, which increase in difficulty the less players are left in that match (or ‘show’).
These courses need a mix of skill and luck to finish. Even if you know optimal routes, some courses simply take things out of your hands – there’s fake doors, falling platforms, stupid players, and other ‘fun’ things awaiting you. And whilst these are enjoyable, if frustrating at times, there’s also team matches.
Those suck. No debate. Your team mates will suck, your experience will suck, and honestly, being eliminated through no fault of your own really…blows. Team games are basically a flip of the coin on whether you’ll continue on or not – especially if it’s the Soccer Ball game.
But Fall Guys isn’t all bad. As mentioned earlier, you can customise your little bean, using ‘Kudos’ and ‘Fame’ – two currencies you earn simply by playing. There’s a lot of cosmetics you can apply, from different paint schemes, to patterns, clothing, faces…you can buy Kudos if you’re desperate, but you’ll earn more than enough by just playing. Fame is harder to get, and can’t be bought – so actually building that currency feels like an achivement.
The controls are basic, but responsive. You can move, jump, and grab things – players, items, or ledges. The sound design is cute, and the music catchy. The servers also populate very quickly – infact, Mediatonic is busy adding more right now due to demand. But there’s also some disconnection issues right now being worked on, too.
I really do love/hate Fall Guys. It’s very fun/garbage. Especially in voice chat with a group of friends. And as it’s not too expensive, I suppose I could even recommend the title – especially in a month or so when server issues are ironed out. But I don’t think I’d need to recommend this at all: Chances are, your friends are already coaxing you to get it.