(Image credit: Velan Studios)

Balls to You

Get ready for intense parkour dodgeball competition in Knockout City by Velan Studios. EA has made the title one of its EA Originals. According to the EA Originals website, other titles in that list include Rocket Arena, It Takes Two, A Way Out, Unravel, and more. Knockout City offers an original take on PVP combat with added dodgeball mechanics that will evolve with ongoing seasons. The Load Screen reviews this third-person cartoon shooter since eliminating enemies requires precisely targeting with single-shot ammo, minus the gun. It is easy to pick up and play matches since smaller competition sizes ensure quick playtime, even on the Xbox One.

Knockout City is about one thing and one thing only, intense player versus player dodgeball carnage. The story is that Knockout City is a metropolis full of stylish Crews running around, throwing balls in each other’s faces. All-day long. Good thing there is plenty of customizable gear and Crew equipment for players, or there will be as the game progresses. The clothes, actions, and even the announcer carry a cartoon feel with intense neon overtones. I seriously thought I was replaying Crazy Taxi for a moment listening to the smooth sounds of the announcer’s voice mixed with his funky attitude.

The gameplay takes that same approach and nails it. Players can throw, pass, catch, or dodge balls with some added superpowers. The dodge is nice, but the tackle feature can deflect the incoming enemy arsenal if timed right. Another move that required good timing was using the glider to soar into the action, especially when the balls are flying. The gamer also has several emotes available for use include taunting the competition, asking for a pass, or shouting “Ball Up!” to a teammate. Unlike real dodgeball, in Knockout City, the player can throw their team at the competition. Players can get into a ball mode that, once charged, turns into a special co-op aerial attack. I loved the added level of teamwork required to pull this move off entirely, and a well-timed special can decimate the other team. Using cover and building is found in the various levels of the game helped mask the charge-up since it takes a moment.

On top of all the moves available to the player, each match spawns a special ball throughout the map. One gameplay type generates bonus balls only, but that mode was more brutal to defeat enemies than I anticipated. The multi-ball is the most basic since it gives the user three throwable balls but falls as a set like every other ball type. Cage ball traps the enemy in an unwanted ball form until freed. Bomb ball is a timed explosive that begins counting down when picked up. The Sniper ball is almost impossible to catch at full charge. The last bonus type is the Moon ball which hits victims with antigravity causing them to float away. Using any of the bonus ball types can swing a match back into the player’s favor.

(Image credit: Velan Studios)

Right now, Knockout City has five levels, but they each offer different physics obstacles that can directly affect gameplay. The level called Knockout Roundabout has vehicle traffic that circles the intense building to street action. Then there is Galaxy Burger, a section located at the top of Knockout City with a spinning restaurant full of platforms and ball spawning locations. At the same time, the Concussion Yard zone comes complete with a giant wrecking ball that looks painful but does not damage anyone it hits unless they fall off the building. Back Alley Brawl amps up the tight building action by giving the players fast travel pipes that turn deadends into quick escapes and swift attacks. Finally, Rooftop Rumble has a wind section that allows players to glide higher across the building gap quickly and an armadillo in a party hat easter egg. Since there are only a few maps, they can get repetitive quickly after a long gaming session but allow for mastering the current locations.

The levels emphasize the parkour action in distinct ways, as well as jump pads conveniently scattered across every map. They launch competitors into higher sections but can also allow players to avoid dangerous attacks. Players can use the pads to glide away or dodge away from an opposing team’s special attack. I found the most intense competition happened when I stumbled into multiple enemies near one of the jump pads. I distracted them enough for teammates to swoop in for the win.

Despite playing the game without teaming up directly with friends, I had epic moments in almost every round. Getting on a better Crew helped, but I had fun employing my favorite Destiny 2 technique, even on a bad team. The move involves circling the other team on a rogue mission of surprise attack and disruption while engaging with my teammates. However, good group coordination helps takedown competitors who are well acquainted with the entire arsenal of Knockout City moves available in squad play.

Velan Studios has promised additional modes, including free-for-all battles, but some are not yet enabled. The game has a ton of potential growth, especially with the season formats intended for Knockout City. The first season already started, and the competition is getting heated already. With the start of the first season, the game shows a clear esports aspect, but that may not be bad. Depending on the final format, teams for such tournaments could be smaller than in other esports games, but not by much. This will matter little when other esports giants such as Overwatch reduce their team sizes in the future, according to this official Overwatch news article on changes for Overwatch 2. So, despite a limited team size, any infusion of esports competition will bring more money for the developers to add more content as seasons progress further.

(Image credit: Velan Studios)

While gameplay modes and levels lack some diversity, Knockout City does not have the same issue with console availability. Other titles, including some competitive ones, only release for a small number of devices. Velan Studios has ensured short downtimes and full lobbies across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Epic Games Store, Origin, and Steam with crossplay enabled. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S owners can still get into the battle by playing the current-gen versions on their high-powered machines.

Not everyone will enjoy the competition offered within Knockout City. For one thing, the graphics are not next-gen. That is an apparent cost of having the game reach so many systems on day one, and it does not have a direct PS5 or Xbox Series X/S version either. Another issue is the menus are hard to manage without going back to the Hideout, a gamer’s private rooftop minizone between matches. That means switching game modes requires several loads before getting back into action. Luckily, the load times were short on the Xbox One I used to test the game so bouncing through menus was not bad. However, if I accidentally clicked on the wrong game type, the player dropout penalty would have applied almost as soon as the search for a match begins—a nice feature in a fiercely competitive game but a little overly aggressive in its current state. Once I got into the action, the menus did not matter.

Knockout City is a highly competitive third-person shooter, where the player can not only stop bullets but become a bullet or a bomb themselves. Go ahead taunt the opposition in combat, see which team lands in the winner circle. This EA Original also promises more content as seasons progress from additional play modes to added levels and cosmetics; expect it all to come in waves. So, if the action is too small now, wait. However, if the gamer only has a little time to play any title, the drop-in matches are quick to join and fully complete. The timer set for each of the best of three rounds ensures that even one hour will have multiple sessions of intense dodgeball battles. 

Knockout City

• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

• Developer: Velan Studios

• Publisher: EA

• Release Date: 5/21/2021