I’ve been dipping into a few different multiplayer games recently, both as a change to the single-player experiences I’m running through and as a way to play with friends. Bigger games like Call of Duty Warzone and newly released Outriders command a lot of time. They are great to team up with friends and catch up with each other’s lives, alongside getting shot, a lot. These bigger evening sessions are also why I find myself poking Fall Guys (FG) a couple of times a week. I can play in short bursts, getting in one or two shows in less than 30 minutes, or 15 if I’m not playing well. FG was recently updated to season 4 and came with a bunch of new levels to bounce, jump and scream through. I’m going to run down my favourites and which ones make me feel like chucking the control pad at the wall.
The new season, named Fall Guys 4041, has a neon soaked, electronic futures vibe to it. 6 of the 7 new rounds have this future tone to them with one sticking to the original, funhouse, colourful aesthetic. Most of these rounds have a similar play style to them from the original rounds and it was easy to grasp what was required; it’s accessible, familiarity is one of the game’s strengths. I think this is one of the reasons I keep coming back to FG. There aren’t crazy new inclusions to wrap my head around. It maintains a familiar language across all its elements, play, aesthetic and sound. Each season of Fall Guys mixes these things up enough to keep it fresh every few months. It isn’t just another shooty shooty with a fresh set of skins.
Right then! Onto the new rounds and my thoughts on them. The Fall Guys Twitter account put together a handy set of tweets with a little snippet from each round too. Take a look!
Patch Notes for Season 4 which launches later today!
Let’s start with the 7 new levels…
Basketfall: pic.twitter.com/kijNrwDik5
— Fall Guys ? Season 4 ? (@FallGuysGame) March 22, 2021
Skyline Stumble – I think this round shows off the biggest additions in 4041. Like Hit Parade, it pulls in a few different obstacles to overcome and race past everyone on. It highlights the new gravity mechanics instantly, has moving light bars to jump over or duck under and a mini-maze of light walls controlled by the jump on a button. It can be chaotic. The slim paths and platforms with moving objects add to the tension of the run. It encapsulates most of the elements I like about the Fall Guys rounds. None of the obstacles on the run outstay their welcome or feel unfairly hard. It is usually down to player error, or opponent interference when something goes wrong.
Roll On – A new take on Roll Out. Rather than running back and forth between 5 rollers, this is a point A to B race. Players jump across side moving rollers with gaps, walls and bollards on. Bringing in the roller element is smart as this is one of the most familiar components in Fall Guys to comprehend. It is also the only new round with the original aesthetic of Fall Guys. I like it so much because I know it’s an easy qualification and a round I haven’t yet been eliminated on. It’s a jostle for sure and that’s the fun of it. Bashing between obstacles and opponents will never get old.
Short Circuit – Like Skyline Stumble, Short Circuit mixes in a few different obstacles with old and new elements. The kicker? You run it twice. The course stays the same but now light walls block entry to the first maze section, switching on and off in a pattern. The four different obstacle areas are straightforward to understand, a maze, spinning discs and light bars, gravity wells (which can be switched between low and high from a central button) and finally swinging light bars and launch pads. These are all broken up by conveyor belts and punching gloves for an extra set of obstacles. This is one of the rounds to tackle with a plan. Knowing where to jump, looking ahead at the colour of the gravity wells and understanding which flinging launch pad will send you forward is key in getting ahead. It’s a very fun race.
Power Trip – This is one of my favourite team rounds from the entire game. This is probably because when I have the little battery pack which turns the floor my team colour I just follow the other team, overriding everything they have just won. It’s a little more tactical than Tail Tag or Pegwin Pursuit as the board is actively being changed, it isn’t just getting the thing and holding on until time runs out. The extra element of changing the colour of the floor tiles takes eyes away from looking out for opponents and brings in an element of surprise when they grab you for that battery.
Big Shots pic.twitter.com/BMIOwlkU1k
— Fall Guys ? Season 4 ? (@FallGuysGame) March 22, 2021
Big Shots – A see-saw and three cannons. This is possibly the simplest of the new games, simpler even than any of the rounds in the game so far. Stand on a see-saw and run back and forth avoiding the colourful items, like stars, planets and control pads being fired at you. This one doesn’t take much skill to pass. The biggest obstacle is actually the other players getting in the way. Bump against someone at the last second and get creamed by a flying miniature Saturn. This is also the round where I find other players are the most combative for a non-team game. Players will hold you, more often than not getting knocked in the gloop alongside your well dressed jelly bean.
Basketfall – Team rounds aren’t always my least favourite. Some of them are great and Basketfall would be too if other players got what was going on. More often than not I get pulled away or off a ball by my own team. Players frantically try to grab a basketball then run or jump the ball to the baskets sat in low gravity fields. It’s fun to execute, it just isn’t that fun to play. I think this round would benefit me if I was in a squad, something 4041 has added. Although as I’ve never squaded up with others I do not know if this round would be included in that mode. Like Fall Ball it requires tactics, some people attacking, some defending. The motion of attacking makes that very appealing to do, and so off every single jelly bean goes, open baskets left in their wake.
Hoverboard Heroes – This round can do one. It isn’t even hard but so many times this is my downfall. Knocked by a slow moving light bar into the pink ooze. Pushed by another player when trying to grab a ledge to climb, straight into that pink ooze. Miss timing when the moving board will arrive and sliding down some ooze into, more ooze! This round can do one.
My favourite rounds often stick to the core play of Fall Guys, mostly because it can be very satisfying to beat the competition on these rounds. For a time FG allowed us to play a mix of just these new rounds, but this mode has been removed and the rounds now fully integrated into the roulette of a classic show. With the inclusion in season 4 of different modes to try, I can see this returning and it is a great way to experience what the update brings. A classic show is fine but I want to experience a few of these new levels in a, perhaps, 5 round show.
Are you still playing Fall Guys, and if so what do you think of these new rounds? Come and chat about it with me, @nova_47, and maybe we can squad up to knockout the competition.
