Velan Studios, the studio behind the mixed reality pilot Mario Kart Live: home circuit, revealed his next title: Knockout City, a team-based online dodge game. And it will be released soon, as the game will be released on May 21 on Origin, Steam, Playstation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, with improvements for PS5 and Xbox Series X. EA is publishing the game under its EA Originals label.
Knockout CityThe burn vision is similar to what you probably played in gym class. You and your team are trying to hit your opponents with balls while avoiding and catching the balls thrown at you. In addition to direct shots, you can bend your shots, throw balls over obstacles and even fake shots to try to catch your opponent off balance.
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Image: Velan Studios
But there are a lot of things that you probably didn’t have to deal with when you played dodgeball as a child. There are balls with special powers, like a bomb ball that will explode (hopefully not in your hands). You can also flip yourself on a ball, and your teammates can pass you, shoot enemies or even use your ball form for a special attack.
You will automatically brake on close opponents, which means you won’t have to worry as much about aiming as you would in other team-based games. Instead of, Knockout City it seems to be more about timing your shots strategically or coordinating with your teammates to get a good angle from someone.
The game also has a street-inspired style, aided by the huge variety of cosmetics available in the game. You can unlock new cosmetics by completing certain tasks or by purchasing them with Holobux, Knockout City’s game currency. And as far as I could tell, the game seems to have a great soundtrack. During a preview event, I heard big band jazz music that would make me feel at home in a Incredible movie.
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Image: Velan Studios
Knockout City’s affordable-looking burning approach and its distinctive style reminded me a lot Splatoon, that put a Nintendo touch on the team shooting genre with great results. I couldn’t try Knockout City I still do, but I’m looking forward to taking a chance.
The game will cost $ 19.99 and this flat fee will give you access to all nine-week seasons of the game. Velan Studios plans to offer a free trial of the full game when it comes out, but has not announced how long this test will last. There will also be a closed beta on the PC on February 20th and 21st.
The game will also have cross-play and cross-progression between platforms, but you will have to buy Knockout City for each platform you want to play on. This can be a difficult pill to swallow if you are used to playing games like Fifteen days or Rocket League on whatever device you’re currently using, without having to buy the game right away.