Game Review: Fall Guys

Fall Guys is probably one of the most fun and accessible multiplayer games I’ve played in a long while. There’s a lot about this game which showcases the simple ingenuity in online elimination style games which pay homage to television shows like Takeshi’s Castle or Total Wipeout.  Like those shows, Fall Guys understands there’s so much chaotic fun to be found the elimination style set up. With a plethora of different game modes and playstyles for the player to get lost in, it’s no wonder Fall Guys has elevated into popularity since becoming free-to-play.

Developed by London-based studio Mediatonic along with additional support from Red Kite Games in Leeds, Fall Guys serves as a free-to-play online battle royale game in which groups of sixty players are sent through a selection of elimination games. Interesting thing to note about Fall Guys is it initially started out as a full priced retail game back in 2021. I imagine one of the biggest factors leading towards Fall Guys redeployment as a free-to-play title was making the game open to a lot wider an audience without the restriction of an upfront payroll. After playing the game both before and after this new phase, I must admit going free-to-play was the smartest decision for this game. 

There’s no narrative element to this game, in basic terms you play a bean. A living creature without a mouth and your sole aim is to compete against other beans in a bunch of games. Your bean is yours to customise with a wide array of options available through the customisation catalogue. The immense level of customisation available to you is one of the best aspects of the game for me as it allows you to express yourself to some very specific levels. Whether it’s colour, pattern, face or clothing, the game has so many options for you to experiment with.  With the free-to-play aspect the way players can obtain new customisation options now stems from the season passes and clothing stores. It’s a very monetised form of acquiring items but it’s not totally unfair as I understand Mediatonic need a way to finance the game now. The variety of clothing and outfits that they designed for this game showcases how popular it is when it’s able to get costumes for multiple licensed franchises. They even offer regular content drops which rewards players with unique items for completing challenges within a certain period. It’s all very nicely tuned seasonal mechanics that reward players for regularly logging in and playing.

In terms of gameplay the game has a wide array of different modes and minigames to play with. Some game modes require you to play solo while others pit players together in teams. The variety of these modes is what makes playing Fall Guys so fun, they’re all designed to be simplistic in function but creative in scope. My only issue is how the game cycles these game modes within the rotated playlists. It often feels like the algorithm doesn’t fairly select the vast amount of modes within certain playlists, instead they put you in a the same games constantly. This happens quite often when the seasonal playlists get updated and it leads to sessions getting quite repetitive quickly. This is a negative because I feel when the game has such a plethora of game modes available to be popped into, it hinders that potential when it fails to distribute players within them on a fair basis. 

One of the other elements behind the game which makes its gameplay so fun is the ability to share it with your friends. The game offers players the ability to team up in a group of four to jump into the different game modes. It also offers private servers and sessions for a full player count of sixty people. This sort of functionality is great for wider tournaments or stream sessions too. Offering players more ways to play together is always a positive in my book so these options are well worth praising.

Despite some minor issues though I can’t fault the pure appeal of Fall Guys. It’s an experience you can easily pick up and play within any time range you feel is appropriate. It’s ability to support private squad and full-play sessions helps make it a far more accessible experience when you want to play with a large group of friends too. It’s cute and charming aesthetic makes it suitable for all age groups too. It’s just an all-around solid multiplayer experience to get lost in and is well worth your time, especially with it being free-to-play now.