Fall Guys isn’t just the irresistibly fun and accesible, multiplayer game that seemingly everyone is playing. It’s also the source of some of the best memes of the summer, adding much-needed joy to our timelines since it released on PC and PlayStation 4 on Aug. 4.
Some are already campaigning to name the battle royale-meets-Mario Party game the 2020 Game of the Year. But with several months still left in 2020 (god help us), we’re not ready to make that call just yet. We are, however, absolutely declaring it the indisputable game of the summer, aided by the fact that it has the internet spinning meme gold.
To start, let’s clarify what Fall Guys even is.
Created by Mediatonic and published by Devolver Digital, the new party game takes the last-player-standing battle royale concept popularized by the likes of Fortnite and applies it to a series of single-player and team-based minigames. There’s only two button prompts (jump and grab), which you learn to use so the ragdoll physics work in your favor rather than against you.
Those who cross the finish line before the player cap is reached for a particular round or survive a level’s obstacles before time runs out move on to the next round. Through a combination of skill and luck, you can end up in the final stage, competing with a handful of remaining players to be the final champion to get the coveted crown.
On top of all that, Fall Guys is minimal-thought-required game that you can play with friends, making it the latest perfect socially distant virtual hangout activity. Also, because of how accessible it is, no one needs to feel left out; it’s equally engaging to players of all skill levels, ages, etc.
You don’t even have to play Fall Guys to enjoy its existence. The memes and video clips coming out of the game are just as fun.
For example, what can beat the schadenfreude-filled posts of bad luck and destruction befalling players? These are the kinds of posts that feed everyone’s soul — except the unfortunate victims, of course.
Then there are the inside jokes around elimination, aided only by Alex Jones representing That Type Of Player who loses only because their egos are too busy taunting others at the finish line.
Players have a particular hatred for the Slime Climb level, which is so unforgiving that this Twitter user equated it to the notoriously challenging Dark Souls series.
The yellow team – one of several colors that appears during the game’s team-based rounds – has also become a point of contention and memeification.
Players started complaining that they always lost when on the yellow team. The conspiracy theory that was only exacerbated by the Fall Guys official Twitter account (a goldmine of comedy in itself) egging it on.
They even promised to delete yellow team from the game if they reached 1 million retweets. When they did, though, the video released only threatened to make everyone the yellow team instead.
Everyone’s favorite fighting game champion and non-binary furry internet icon SonicFox is getting in on the action. They insist that the definitely-not-a-fighting-game should, in fact, be considered a fighting game, posting several clips of their brutal elimination tactics ruining lives.
The psychological warfare that is a trademark of SonicFox’s brilliant and entertaining style is catching on, too. In this clip, a clever player uses the fundamental flaw In the memory game level against those simply following the crowd rather than you know, using their memory to remember the right tiles.
Part of what’s so great about Fall Guys is the balance between luck and strategy. This makes it a game not only able to be enjoyed by players of all skill levels, but one that also turns master strategies into strokes of unexpected ingenuity.
Unfortunately, because it’s the internet, some people are still finding ways to ruin everyone’s wholesome fun. We will never understand Fall Guys cheaters who hack the system. But we hope your hollow victory tastes like ash in your mouth and that the gold crown you supposedly “earned” turns to dust in your hands.
On top of everything, Fall Guys even finds a way to speak to our unprecedented political and cultural times in surprising ways.
Fall Guys is the perfect metaphor for capitalism, because failure is usually the end result of absolute bullshit circumstances out of your control, like being on the yellow team. But when you succeed you convince yourself YOU DID THIS. You DESERVE THIS. I am a WINNER.
— Mark Serrels (@Serrels) August 18, 2020
In summary, GG Fall Guys. Since many of us are still stuck inside waiting out the pandemic, we desperately needed something to laugh and cuss about together in equal measure. So you win the summer 2020 crown in our hearts.