Knockout League Review – Ready 2 Rumble Meets VR

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Knockout League by Grab games is colourful, fun to play and definitely works up a sweat. So how is the game as a PSVR release? Lets find out!

Gameplay

Knockout League is a blast to play. In its simplicity you are a body-less entity that comes up against a number of different opponents through the career mode. These opponents are a variety of larger than life characters whose sole purpose is to take you down!

Controlling your character is a dream, essentially the move controllers imitate your boxing gloves, with 1 to 1 movement you are able to dodgy incoming shots from your opponents and strike back when the opportunity arises.

Knockout League
Look out!

So back to those characters, they are varied from a traditional boxing physique, through to an Octopus….AN OCTOPUS. How are you meant to beat something that has 8 hands! Well the answer is learning your opponent’s moves and using them to carry out the 5 D’s, 1. dodge 2. duck 3. dip 4. dive 5. dodge. Using your entire body to get out of the way of those big hits is as easy as crouching and leaning away from the hits. Once you have dodged a shot, Knockout League gives you a window to carry out your own flurry of punches, so don’t hold back and swing for the fences! Once you have knocked down your opponent for the first time, they get back up and you have to tackle a whole new series of punches, each getting harder and harder before getting that third and final knockdown. Only then will you be crowned the victor in your fight and you can move up the ranks towards being the Champion of Knockout League

Outside of the career mode, the game gives you a training segment, where you can learn some nice combos to take into the ring. Then you have Reflect Alley, this acts as a big of a mini-game, where you will be dodging medicine balls, punching balloons all as a pseudo work out. Now this definitely gets a sweat going and after a decent length of gaming you really can feel the burn.

Knockout League - Octopus
An Octopus! AN OCTOPUS!

Add to the game the ability to count your calories then you are sure that Knockout League is a full body workout, bringing up your heart rate and causing you to perspire is a great way to spend an hour of your time. Just remember to towel down afterwards, nobody wants a smelly PSVR.

Graphics

Knockout League delights the eyes with its colourful characters, and it actually is one of the smoothest games I have played on the PSVR. The characters are massive, and they literally stand right in front of you.

If you happen to get hit you see stars, the screen shakes and you definitely feel slightly disorientated for a moment. However, keep getting hit and the colour starts to leave the screen and the darkness starts to creep in. Get hit another time and the screen goes black and all you are left with is a blurry mess.

The environments you find yourself in including the training gym and the pre-fight room, are all generated beautifully, nice and smooth and colourful.

Audio

Audio wise, you get crowd sounds all around you when you are fighting, you get the in-ring banter from your opponent and you get the crunching sounds of leather on the face. All the sounds in Knockout League are spot on and really give you a nice dose of fighting immersion.

Knockout League - Pirate
It be time to fight! Yarrr!

The sound, however, is probably the weakest part of the game, but then when you are fighting a pirate in the middle of the arena, the last thing you are thinking about is the audio.

Longevity

So the game itself isn’t particularly long, with Knockout League having 9 fighters at the moment, but having to learn the combos that they deal out is where the longevity of the game comes into play. Depending on how good you are at learning routines, this game will give you plenty of fun.

Wearing the PSVR headset whilst playing Knockout League is also nice and comfy, you do however have to be careful of your body temperature, with it steadily increasing the more you play. This has its own problems, causing a slight misting on the eyepieces after a heavy workout. It soon dispersed after moving the headset away from my eyes for a few minutes.

So all in all, Knockout League is a massive barrel of fun, and could be compared to Ready 2 Rumble with its zany characters and colourful graphics. Will it keep you coming back for more or will it be a one hit wonder? Well personally, I think that it has addictive gameplay and kept me trying and trying again to learn the combos and avoid taking any damage. Knockout League lands a haymaker and gets the Thumb Culture Silver Award.

Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.

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