Fall Guys is some of the most fun I’ve had in a battle royale. But the team games make me want to throw my controller across me room. Here’s what makes them so frustrating.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is Mario Party writ large — a battle royale experience I’ve been training for my entire life. But for all the silly nonsense and the cute framing, Fall Guys is a competitive experience. When the “show” ends, there is one winner and 59 losers. But as I go for the Crown each game, I find myself clenching up during the mini-game selection. Not because Fruit Chute stresses me out, but because I don’t want to get stuck with Fall Guys’ worst feature: team games. Mediatonic is aware of the team game problem, and it’s tried to implement a few fixes already — such as reduced timers on some of the more frustrating games, like Team Tail Tag. And while these changes are welcome, they don’t solve the real problem: team games make me feel powerless. In most of Fall Guys’ minigames, I’m only out for myself. In the race minigames, like The Whirlygig, I’ve got to make my own way through the fans, onto the rotating platforms, and through the finish line. Sure I can troll some people along the way, and they can try to push me around, but I’m responsible for myself. And when I lose, that responsibility falls on me.
