The look of the modern team-based multiplayer game has taken many different shapes in recent years, ranging from the cars-meets-soccer game Rocket League to the recently-popular hero shooter Valorant. And while developers have innovated on the incredibly broad genre quite a bit, EA and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit developer Velan Studios' dodgebrawler Knockout City comes in with a dodgeball-like "thwack," shaking up the scene with an all-new take on the team-based multiplayer game.
Back in February, Knockout City was revealed during a Nintendo Direct presentation, with a strange trailer that suggested the game had something of an identity crisis. And although Knockout City still seems to struggle with its identity, it nails the core necessities of a team-based game while providing a fresh experience.
The concept of a team-based dodgeball game is as simple as it sounds. In Knockout City, players partake in intense dodgeball games known as Dodgebrawls, where Crews duke it out for dominance in spots all around Knockout City. The game is rooted in its Team KO mode, which pits 2 teams of 3 against each other, where the first team to reach 10 KOs wins a round and the best 2 out of 3 wins the match.
Throughout their Knockout City journeys, players will have the chance to progress through what Velan Studios calls a "free, social battle pass" on a seasonal basis, with tiered unlocks that feature a random order per player. Players complete Contracts to earn XP and cosmetics, and even work towards unique rewards with clan-like Crews of up to 32 brawlers. Velan Studios even promises regular updates with new maps, special balls, cosmetic items, weekly limited-time modes, and more, starting with the launch of Season 1 on May 25.
In Knockout City, players are officially knocked out when they are hit by a dodgeball twice, or hit by a more lethal type of ball, such as an opponent. Not only can players "Ball Up" to be thrown at their opponents by their teammates, but the game keeps brawls fresh with a randomly-chosen special ball each match, like a Sniper Ball that darts in a straight line when thrown, or a Bomb Ball that sticks to surfaces and detonates shortly after being picked up. Additionally, the Party Brawl mode flips Knockout City on its head, letting players run wild by spawning only special balls, while the Diamond Dash mode makes for fast-paced action as players vie for points as opposed to knockouts alone.
Although the game focuses on accessibility and is quite simple on the surface, it boasts a high skill-ceiling for those looking to get competitive. Controls are simple: players can throw, pass, and catch dodgeballs, dodge, tackle opponents, perform a double jump, glide mid-air, and throw slick lobs and curveballs. Finessing a lob over a building or beaming a fully-charged curveball from around the corner make for some incredibly satisfying knockouts.
If teamwork makes the dream work, then Knockout City players have more than enough chances to make their dreams come true. The game's mechanics allow for a myriad of different team-based plays to secure some sweet knockouts. Although difficult to pull off, the risk-reward tradeoff for a fully-charged Ball Up is appropriate, resulting in a slow but devastating Ultimate Throw that is capable of knocking out multiple opponents at once on impact.
It doesn't take long to get the hang of Knockout City, and with the right flow of teamwork, players can streamline coordinated knockouts, pummeling their opponents into oblivion. Knockout City's visual cues let players know if they're being targeted and where a ball might be coming from. While audio cues make it clear when players have been hit by a ball, Knockout City's careful sound design helps players not just see, but hear how close a ball is to hitting them. Players without mics can also use specific in-game call-outs to communicate with their teammates.
Knockout City has no problem letting players get creative to devise their own tactics as well, such as coordinating 2 simultaneous throws at a single opponent to leave them without an opening to catch both balls. One player can distract an opponent while another sneaks in a quick, fully-charged throw from behind, or a curveball from the side, and players can tackle opponents to leave them without a dodgeball to throw. Players can even catch Balled Up opponents to use them against their own teammates or throw them off the edge of the map for a quicker KO.
The different maps in Knockout City give players a variety of ways to get around, such as Back Alley Brawl's pneumatic tubes and the gusts of wind that allow players to glide across Rooftop Rumble. However, these gimmicks tend to be some of the only defining characteristics of the game's different maps, as most of them look and feel very similar to each other. While consistency is nice, Knockout City's lack of map variety doesn't present players with much intriguing diversity in its environments, despite Velan Studios insisting there is deep lore behind the city.
Additionally, it was clear that Knockout City took inspiration from a variety of places, but didn't quite hit the nail on the head for what its own identity should be. While its more simple Fortnite-like character designs are diverse and accessible, the game's art direction is sometimes uninspired, with many characters' face models looking like they were accidentally squished during development.
Having Dodgebrawl matches narrated by a 3-in-1 referee, sports announcer, and DJ certainly breathes some much-needed life into Knockout City's universe. And while the jazz-inspired soundtrack by musical duo The Soundlings can be repetitive at times, it does manage to keep up the fast-paced, pumping rhythm of intense Dodgebrawls.
Knockout City is a genre-defying take on the team-based multiplayer game, where players are not just teammates, but also tools and assets for one another. And although Knockout City struggles to find an identity, the game's ability to excel in accessibility while holding a high skill-ceiling makes it easy to pick up and even easier to keep playing.
Knockout City is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Game Rant was provided PC code for this review.