It only took a few days for my Knockout City matches to become noticeably sweatier than when I started, but now that Ranked mode has arrived with Season 1, serious players have a proper proving ground on which to exert ball supremacy. I've become infatuated with mastering as many maneuvers as I can: the fake-and-throw, the pass-pass-throw, the lob-and-fastball followup-made up names for strategies that, amazingly, all seem totally viable. It becomes hard not to take the game seriously, especially once you start to get good. Like in other projectile battle-sport games Lethal League and Windjammers, volleys can get intense. (Image credit: EA) Ball is lifeĭespite an art style that suggests a casual brawler, Knockout City is deeply competitive. I'm starting to get some truly bizarre hairstyles as I climb through the ranks. It's equal parts gratifying and traumatizing for us youth dodgeball veterans. A special shoutout belongs to whoever recorded the one-of-a-kind bonk of a red rubber ball cracking over a face. And beyond being tactically distinct, the sounds are also hilariously expressive. As a test, I tried to play the game with my eyes closed for a few minutes and was still able to time catches perfectly and even score a few hits. I struggle to think of another PvP game that has considered its sound effects so carefully other than juggernauts like CS:GO and Valorant. And everything that you need to hear, such as the subtle whoosh of a ball heading your way or smack of someone catching a ball behind you, always breaks through the soundscape of music, announcer barks, and callouts. Every single important action in the game-catches, dodges, passes, tackles, slow balls, fast balls, curved, lobbed, and every special ball in between-has its own distinct sound. A lack of consistent, varied audible feedback can hinder games that would otherwise feel great ( Biomutant's clunky fighting comes to mind), but Knockout City is an overachiever in this area. It'd be criminal to talk about Knockout City's controls without mentioning sound design. That's enough time to get thrown back as a weapon against your own team, or get tossed off the edge of the map like a piece of trash (ouch). You're helpless while you're a ball, and if you get caught by an enemy, you're trapped in their grasp for a few seconds. Ballform can be a total lifesaver when there's nothing else around, and a hit is also an instant KO, but it carries crucial risks. On top of all that, any player can curl up into a ball and become a weapon for your teammates.

Knockout city pc