Knockout City was first announced during a Nintendo Direct, got a beta on PC shortly after, and has now shown up on Sony’s most recent PlayStation State of Play. The new trailer featured a bunch of new unannounced gameplay features, as well as revealed the cross-play beta coming to PlayStation on April 2. If you missed the closed PC beta last week, this is a great time to jump in and see what the multiplayer dodgeball brawler Knockout City is all about.
The new trailer further highlighted how Knockout City is different from other multiplayer games, centering on timing and position rather than aim (more like a fighting game than a third-person shooter), along with a focus on teamwork. The trailer showed off trick shots, which can mess with opponents’ timing. We also got a look at new maps beyond what was shown in the reveal and first PC beta, which also highlighted unique environmental mechanics that can change each match.
A new Special Ball was revealed; the Sniper Ball, which is basically a football shaped dodgeball that allows you to lock onto targets from a greater distance. It also showcased some new modes, like 1v1 Face Off (which can end in a tense, battle royale-like circle closing) and Team KO.
Before the original announcement, we had a chance to get our hands on Knockout City for a few hours, trying out the insanely fun dodgeball game for ourselves. The cross-play beta will include even more than we got to try out; four maps, five different balls, two modes (3v3 and 1v1) and more customization items unlocked.
Knockout City is coming May 21, 2021 with a free trial of the full game on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC via Origin and Steam, and PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S via backwards compatibility. The free trial will run for an unannounced period of time before players will need to purchase the game at $19.99 to continue playing. All new seasonal content will be granted to all players free, with a deep progression system and new seasons that will include a variety of rewards and other surprises. The cross-play beta is coming April 2 and will run through April 4th.
