On the wings of the enthusiasm for the transition to a free-to-play formula, the paid game by Epic Games developed by Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout mediatonic Released by Devolver Digital and about to celebrate its second anniversary. The worldwide success of rubber cores “Royal Rumble” marked the incredible milestone of 50 million players. Considering the insane success that characterizes this return to the title’s bland scenes, let’s take a look at the highlights together.
It all starts on a late spring night, or rather, in the evening, like us, in Los Angeles to watch the game’s promotional trailer. The context is the pre-show conference period that the majority of E3 2019 usually promotes and in this case also the last of a true generation.
During this event, we got our first taste of Fall Guys in the weird and atypical formula where Devolver Digital presented the trailer for the upcoming games.
So let’s backtrack Two years of Fall Guys obstacle course.
First impact with Fall Guys
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is a game characterized by a sharp sense of humor as well as curves and colors on steroids. The Mediatonic game takes the Last Man Standing formula according to the Battle Royale gospel in the context of a simple but devilishly competitive platform, opting for exuberant and sparkly level design choices that could once season the challenges of the television show. Takeshi’s Castle, also known by us as Mai dire Banzai. 60 chewable beans tackle a crazy platform game, enter an obstacle course until the last man you either win or go back to the waiting lobby. The only rule that applies is the law of the strongest. And this Fall Guys proved it right from the first time it was shown on a custom-made tatami outside the Convention Center in the Devolver Digital parking lot in Los Angeles, where the developers were ready to give it a hard time.
Imagine yourself in Battle Royale’s heyday, a colorful and fun game that takes the rules and dictations in a way that’s simple enough to be more competitive and brutal than the ones that make up the verses and inspire. That was the essence of Fall Guys, originally scheduled to release on PS4 and PC next year or 2020.
The game later released the first cry on the market August 4, 2020Despite the final stages of development being tailored to technical deadlines dictated by the widespread pandemic, which has made the life of development work much more complex than anticipated, it has managed to contain delays. However, its release was an incredible success for the Mediatonic game. The super-saturated colors, competitive nature, and splash of collaboration infused into the game have well commented on the entertainment desire of a united video game people, but confined to the walls of their homes.
There recipe for success of Fall Guys is based on simple mechanics: jumping, pulling, diving, running and obstacles, many obstacles. The frenzy of each level is interrupted only by anticipation of the next, in a smooth game that has taken a lot from the public, especially the youngsters, and continues to be successful.
From the stars to the moments of difficulty
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout’s rich and constantly updated offering hasn’t stopped questions about when the classic marketing expiration date will be in their favour, as the year is divided into seasons with new levels, updates and alternative modes. free to play. The historical closeness between Battle Royale and this business model implied that sooner or later the transition would be necessary. However, in the first months of its launch, doubts have been lifted about the success of the game, which had reached 11 million players on PC as of December 1 of the same year and 8 or more on PS4 during the same period. incoming numbers best seller it was only partially overshadowed by the overflowing spread of Among Us, which became the phenomenon of the moment.
In this regard, there were two other issues that affected the game’s probability of being rolled out and were already widely available at launch: the lack of crossplay and the release only on PC and PS4. The team was looking for a solution for both situations, but neither had a firm closing date. Added to these headaches is the time it takes to absorb the game structure, dynamic and crazy but also very repetitive, few mechanics and limited gameplay depth that can end quickly and risk boring the player. The Fall Guys review has already given this aspect as the first negative point.
These were probably the reasons why the number of Fall Guys players dropped by 80% in the fall of 2020, and despite initial stellar sales, they were more at risk than ever of witnessing a meteor go out in the Battle Royale landscape. .
The new way of Fall Guys with Epic Games
Seasons have changed and new content has become part of the game’s offering. Fall Guys was on the doorstep. first radical change. On March 2, 2021, Mediatonic was acquired by Epic Games.
The giant behind Fortnite had decided to put the intellectual property into the hands of Devolver Digital; A radical evolution scenario in the function of returning the most played to Olympus was no longer likely. Fall Guys was actually having its darkest moment in those months, with the lowest number of active players since launch, but a spark of hope for a change of course could soon reverse the downward trend. Behind the scenes, the guys from the development team presented their suggestions for expanding the platform basin and cross playas well as the normal continuous seasonal updates.
Initially, the development of Nintendo Switch and Xbox versions was shaped with the aim of completing it by the end of the year, and then the applications for cross-play to come to the game were finalized. The latter would appear without further expectation with the update codenamed “Dave” the following month, but the version on Switch and Xbox would disappear even if Mediatonic confirmed it was working within minutes.
Meanwhile, Epic Games wasted no time in giving life to people. thematic collaborations however, these operations, however interesting and instantly effective, were not enough to bring the game back to the glory of the first months after its launch.
Throughout 2021, the idea began to spread that restoring prestige to Fall Guys would be the way to play for free; but Epic Games didn’t know anything about it until spring 2022, despite their projects in the game. At this point, it went uneven with a tweet heralding big surprises coming in a few weeks.
Fall Guys’ long hot summer
Therefore, we move from expectations to the level of reality. The announcement could have been impressive, however: On May 16, 2022, during the hottest time in the video game world, Mediatonic reported that from there until the summer solstice, players could return to the soft and demonic levels of Fall Guys. Pay a penny regardless of what platform they want to play on (other than microtransactions). Fall Guys Free for All became available for all consoles with no entry fee on June 21, giving an additional pass to those who trusted the game by purchasing the game prior to this change. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout for PC was also available on Steam until then, switched to exclusive download on the Epic Game Store and retained active support on the previous platform.
Since June 21, overall downloads across all platforms have recorded staggering numbers. It has the highest number of active users ever recorded for the Epic Game Store, 20 million downloads in 48 hours and 50 downloads in two weeks. It’s a feat that makes the eccentric game Fall Guys return to the crest of the wave and has us asking ourselves today whether there will be a return or eventually a way out of a meteor that just needs to run out again. game to carve a space destined to stay.
Source: Multiplayer
