LogFAQs > #965955831

#46: Fall Guys

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/9/9/AAA-H0AADXHL.jpg

When it came to making this list, the number of games that I felt like I could make at least a relatively passionate recommendation for was basically exactly 50. I ended up ultimately leaving nothing off of the list that felt like it belonged here (aside from a whole bunch of games I didn't play - I'm still discovering new ones that I didn't know about, it's annoying). The problem with this is that there *are* a couple of games where I did really like them, but I have absolutely nothing profound to say about them. I have nothing profound to say about Fall Guys.

Remember Fall Guys? (Formerly Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout but they officially dropped the subtitle, I checked) I mean, it's still a pretty popular game, people are still playing it, I think it either just recently went free to play or it's about to. I think Epic owns it now or something? I don't know. But it really exploded onto the scene a couple of years ago as a prime example of a pandemic era game (though not as big as that *other* much more memeable pandemic-era game) and it feels like it was a super huge deal for a bit and it's kind of receded now but it's still a big deal, I guess.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/0/0/AAA-H0AADXHM.jpg

I might not have a ton to say about it, since it's neither high art nor is it an obscure game that I need to describe in great detail, but it is a great concept for a game! If you're uninitiated, somehow, it's a battle royale game where you play a weird little bean guy (like a Minion, but significantly cuter, but still a little Minion-esque) and you have to compete in a series of obstacle course challenges. Every game, more and more people get eliminated, until it's just a few taking place in one last game to decide the winner. Or, more likely if you're me, you lost in round 2 and you tried again and you did not care about whoever the future winner was.

As a kid, I was a huge fan of obstacle courses. American Gladiators, Guts, and Legends of the Hidden Temple were some of my formative TV as a kid. I'd devise routes throughout playgrounds and McDonald's playspaces and make my mom time me in my attempts which was great fun for me, and WOW, I'm realizing that was a really early foreshadowing of my future interest in speedrunning. Anyway! Later I discovered Ninja Warrior, as well as Takeshi's Castle by way of MXC, which is really the precursor to this game I think - American TV copied it with Wipeout but I just kinda find the presentation of that show like deeply lame? Japan just does TV better, I dunno.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/0/1/AAA-H0AADXHN.jpg

Takeshi's Castle is great, though, and Wipeout is at least a good premise, and it's sort of shocking to me that it's taken this long to think of the idea of making a battle royale out of this - or really any good game involving cool, wacky obstacle courses at all. It's totally up my alley. Or at least, the obstacle course levels are, as they're easily the best thing about the game - inventive and visually creative and really fun to bounce around on, creating that experience of running a wacky gauntlet of challenges about as well as a video game has to this point. The team-based playground game style challenges are a little more frustrating as they usually result in your teammates being uniquely useless and being unable to make up enough ground by your own efforts - these are kind of the most frustrating chokepoints in the game though I understand why they're there. This game isn't meant to be taken seriously. Mastery is not supposed to exist in this game - there's too much chaos and your controls are too squishy. It's meant to give everyone a chance, and I appreciate that.

I haven't gotten absolutely hooked on this game but I have played it a fair bit - a few hours, long enough to win at least one round. I should probably play this game again sometime because there've been at least two new seasons introduced since I last played. This game is a little bit limited in its appeal - it'd probably be more fun to play with friends in the game, because playing it on my own, once I've seen every level in the game I've kinda seen it all. But it does have a nice 'one more round' kinda feeling to it and it's always really easy to enjoy playing. Okay, phew! I guess I did have something to say about Fall Guys. It wasn't so bad! I just have to start typing. These writing projects are a way of me trying to get through writers' blocks and I was really worried this one was gonna stop me dead in my tracks.

Next up: Wasn't sure if this game goes in the "puzzles" or the "talking" category of game.