Fall Guys exploded onto the scene in 2020, immediately rocketing to stardom thanks to its lovable jellybean characters, simple premise, and addictive structure. While enthusiasm for the 60-player party platformer has cooled, it’s remained popular the last couple of years and Mediatonic has supported it well with multiple seasons full of new content. Now, not only has it arrived natively on PS5, it’s also free-to-play, opening the floodgates to a whole new audience.
For those unaware, you and up to 59 others compete online in a wide variety of obstacle courses and other challenges. The last remaining player wins, earning currency, XP, and bragging rights. Using your winnings — you’ll get something, no matter how well you do — you can unlock all sorts of cosmetic items with which to adorn your clumsy little bean, and then you go again. This loop remains intact, and with dozens of round types and various playlists, the complaint that the game gets repetitive can be mostly disregarded.
Whether you play solo or team up in doubles or squads, running, jumping, and grabbing your way to victory in Fall Guys is always solid dumb fun. It runs buttery smooth on PS5, and thanks to crossplay support, there’s no shortage of people to play with. The purposely chaotic nature of the game makes it perfect to play with friends.
The main thing that lets it down is its new economy; unlike previously, you cannot use Crowns to purchase the best costumes in the shop, and Kudos is harder to earn too. Your Crowns instead go towards a ranking with long-term unlocks. They’re replaced by Show-Bucks, a premium currency needed for all the coolest stuff, which stings a bit after years of access to everything. It lessens the impact of winning because you can just buy all the rarer items now. The free Fame Pass is still there, but it’s supplemented with a premium tier, which is really the only way to earn Show-Bucks without simply buying them. Despite these concerns, the game is just as fun as it ever was, and thankfully none of the things you can buy alter gameplay. There’s so much to like about Fall Guys, and now it’s open to everyone.
