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In an unexpected twist, a large amount of my time is now spent playing Fall Guys, the rubberised, free-to-play competitive bean racing game. I am therefore well equipped to tell you about its Survival Update, released this week, which adds new levels, new powerups and makes it possible to create survival rounds via the in-game level editor.
Fall Guys Survival Update TrailerThe new powerups are interesting, at least in theory: one lets you turn invisible, the other allows you toss a rhino-shaped explosive on wheels. They’re useful tools on a new set of survival levels and playlists added alongside the update.
Levels in Fall Guys are split into two types: race, in which players rush towards a finish line and can respawn if they take a tumble; and survival, in which death means you’re out. It was previously impossible to make the latter in the creative mode added last year. This update changes that, while also adding elements like disappearing hex-tiles and blast balls to the editor for use in any kind of user-made level.
You can also now like and dislike creator-made levels, although really what I’m desperate for is better Mario Maker-style level tagging. You can check the full patch notes on the Fall Guys site.
Despite the ominous name, ‘survival’ rounds are actually far less stressful to play than Fall Guys’ races, because abrupt death is preferable to a prolonged life of tension and suffering.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like Fall Guys. It is a good game for kids, because it somewhat flattens the skill distribution of its players by adding elements of luck and random chance to its levels. For the same reason, it’s also infuriating, such as when your momentum-cucked wobbler gets punted into the abyss by an unfortunately timed pendulum or a general inability to clear two-inch high steps without a running start. Practice, as my son has, and you can still emerge from this Luck Canyon on the other side of the skill curve by perfecting shortcuts and physics-manipulating dives like some sort of baby-faced 360 noscope Takeshi’s Castle wonderkid, but for everyone else, I recommend purchasing some sort of stress ball before you punch your keyboard into bits.