The new battle royale from Mediatonic and Devolver Digital will join Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered in PS Plus in August, which will also mark the release of the game.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout stays away from the “gotta kill ’em all” mentality that dominates nearly every other battle royale, and taps into the fun world of TV game shows. Players must survive multiple rounds of wacky games, either by qualifying in a certain percentile or defying elimination until one contestant is left standing.
For example, one such game is Tail Tag, where half of the contestants start with a tail and the other half do not; the objective being to steal a tail and make sure to end the round with one. Or Whirlygig, where contestants race to the finish line across a track that has spinning floors and giant fans to knock them off course.
The game seems to wish to emulate the success that Rocket League had in 2015 when it first launched, that game also being free for PSN users for a month. It worked astoundingly well for Psyonix, and with similarly colorful and light-hearted aesthetic of Fall Guys, it’s safe to say it might work the same magic for Mediatonic.
Fall Guys is already off to an impressive start, however. Over the weekend, the game had its biggest technical beta to date, which removed NDA restrictions and allowed people to stream and share their gameplay. The game for most of the beta’s run was the highest-viewed game on Twitch, which lead to the game enjoying the sixth slot on Steam’s sales charts.
Last year at E3, Devolver Digital showed me into a room hidden from the rest of the outdoor space they annually occupy across the street from the LA Convention Center. I had an appointment for a game they had yet to announce. I stepped into a giant container filled with colorful inflatable furniture and decorations.
I sat down to play Fall Guys, and I was immediately enraptured. I knew that Devolver Digital and Mediatonic had something special on their hands. My suspicions were confirmed when the game had its first public hands-on at PAX East this year, and it was easily one of the most packed booths on the floor.
Now, with its gigantic beta weekend, and becoming free for PSN users on August 4, Fall Guys might become one of the biggest games of the year. The game will also launch on PC, although not for free, on the same date.
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