One of my favorite feelings is being surprised by a game. Going in with no expectations but being instantly hooked is exactly what happened to me with Knockout city. It’s got fast and responsive gameplay, visuals that really pop out the screen, and the sound when a ball hits your opponent is Chef’s Kiss. In my opinion, there is so much strength in simplicity these days and I don’t think I would have enjoyed Knockout City as much if there was a skill tree or you had to aim every throw, and that gives it a lot of accessibility meaning anyone can play. All the skill is in how you throw the ball and react to having balls thrown at you, and don’t let the art style fool you - there is definitely skill involved here. In the video below I compare Knockout City to Rock Paper Scissors, but Rock Paper Scissors if you could see what your opponent was going to choose one second in advance to react to their move, and that’s what throwing and catching feels like in this game. It’s all action, reaction, mind games and speed, and I feel like the gameplay footage might not do it justice here but I urge you to give it a go. Knockout City is part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play if you’ve got it and even if you don’t have those, you’re free to play up until level 25 now which is great. It’s a win-win situation. Grab a few friends and go pelt some people with dodgeballs. GLHF. Knockout City is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC.