Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is one of the lucky multiplayer games to become a sensation among a multitude of gaming communities, with the COVID-19 pandemic helping the game gain traction (to some extent). Despite being overshadowed by Among Us almost as quickly as it went viral, the game manages to keep an impressively big and loyal fanbase that makes sure to stick around for the inevitable new seasons. The transition from one season to the other is bound to happen soon, and what the new season’s theme and gimmick will be remains to be seen. Fall Guys is most certainly alive, despite what some comments might imply.
However, if it wants to stay relevant among its loyal fanbase, Fall Guys will have to do much more than simply add new gimmicks and themes every season. A lot of fixes were well-received, while others, such as the abrupt changes given to the UI, were not met with warm reactions. The base game itself is doing fine, but there are some improvements that can be given to Fall Guys' quality of life. One such change that can be added is a radical makeover of the character customization system.
The Ups and Downs of Fall Guys’ Character Creator
Considering its status as a game starring a fictional species of rotund creatures, there is unsurprisingly a character creator in Fall Guys. The feature is generally impressive, with the different costumes that players can wear becoming more diverse after each subsequent season. Animals, objects, and tropes related to the seasons’ themes are some of the many concepts used for costumes. Even other fictional characters, such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Cuphead and Mugman, as well as Ratchet and Clank, have made guest appearances.
The typical Fall Guys costume can be divided in one upper half and one bottom half. Players are free to wear one, the other, or both. That being said, there are a lot of details that could be added to make the customizable avatars feel even more personal. One strategy would be to modify the way the costumes are programmed, so players can meticulously choose which parts of certain costumes they would like to keep, and what they want to avoid.
For example, one could choose to wear the jester hat that was brought to Fall Guys in the second season, but they could also decide to discard the hairstyle and chest plate that come with the upper half of the costume. Other accessories, such as glasses and bowties, could also be used separately from the costumes they originally accompanied.
An additional thing that should be added to Fall Guys’ character customization system is a color grid. There are already plenty of color palettes to choose from, but players have to stick with the pre-determined color combinations. If a palette is primarily magenta with green accents, then it cannot be changed. The same thing applies to costumes. For example, the penguin costume that can be purchased as DLC can only be maroon and white. If a color grid were implemented, players could pick their actual favorite colors for both the characters’ “skin” and the costumes, creating their own palettes and making their avatars more personal in the process.
One aspect found in the average multiplayer-focused game is the ability to make the avatar be as close to the player’s appearance or personal tastes as possible. Fall Guys is already doing great with the types of costumes players can use to customize their character. If it were to add the features mentioned beforehand, it could be even better.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is available on PC and PlayStation 4, with Nintendo Switch and Xbox versions in development.
