How to Survive ‘Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout’

Fall Guys is now free to play and available on Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC, and PlayStation consoles. It made a splash back in 2020—you’ve probably seen the colorful, amorphous, bean-shaped characters of Fall Guys, dressed in bright garb and flailing through race courses. Epic Games, known for Fortnite, purchased the fast-paced battle royal, and the free version launched this June with millions of players.

Through a series of semi-random minigames, your goal in Fall Guys is to be the last bean standing. You might have to race your opponents to a finish line by navigating tricky obstacles, work with other beans to snatch tails, or simply outlast your fellow players on a rolling-log contraption. Sixty players enter. Only one will win. Whether you’re a new player or you’ve been on the bean scene for a while, our tips might help you improve your gameplay so you can rack up those sweet, sweet Crowns.

1. Time Your Jumps

It can be easy to focus solely on running toward your objective, but there are other controls available that you shouldn’t discredit. First: jumping. A well-timed jump can help boost you toward the middle of a crowd, get you away from the newbie behind you, or get you over the finish line milliseconds before you’d be otherwise disqualified.

2. Don’t Forget to Grab

Photograph: Devolver Digital

Grabbing is an essential move you’ll need to master if you ever hope to climb over walls or onto ramps. The timing can be tricky, but keep trying and you’ll pick it up quickly. You can even grab other players to impede their progress (or rob them of their tail in some game modes).

Bonus: There’s an achievement for “hugging” another player if they grab you while you’re grabbing them. Aww.

3. Learn When to Dive

The wonky physics of this game are hilarious. You’ll find that you can build momentum very quickly, which hinders your ability to navigate some obstacles. This is where diving is essential. Diving will save your life—if there’s one move you should have in your arsenal, it’s this.

Diving also comes in handy when trying to avoid obstacles like swinging axes or fan blades. If you time it right, you can throw your body forward, just missing the element that would have tossed you into oblivion. Diving helps you get down slime-covered hills more quickly, too. Dive! All the time! (Unless you’re on a long, straight stretch, because diving slows you down.)

4. Falling Can Help, Too

Sometimes a well-timed fall or dive can get you closer to your goal than running ever would have. This is especially true in racing minigames. Falling is inevitable, but if you do it intentionally, the elements of the game board might toss you around in such a fashion that you end up miles ahead of where you intended. When in doubt, try falling.

5. Follow the Crowd

Courtesy of Devolver Digital

Confused on where to go? Playing a new board? In these instances it’s a good idea to follow the rest of your beanmates. If everyone seems to be running toward one direction, it’s a safe bet to do what they’re doing, or at least check it out. Unless you know exactly what you’re doing, going rogue might not be a good plan.

6. But Also, Slow Down

In games like Fall Guys, it’s easy to fall into the frenetic pace of other players. This is how you end up in a loop, where you’re constantly falling prey to the same obstacles while watching your odds of qualifying dwindle by the second. Try slowing down. Yes, your current minigame might literally be a race, but changing up your timing or going at your own speed to avoid certain obstacles will be faster in the long run than running to your death at top speed. Stay calm and don’t panic.

7. Let the Wave of Players Take You

Photograph: Devolver Digital

There will inevitably be a point where you end up stuck in the middle of several other frantic bean people. Rather than trying to fight the crowd, go with the flow, and look for a way out after the other players disperse. If you try to escape, you run the risk of falling and getting trampled—or knocked off the board entirely. Remember, in the early rounds you don’t have to be the best, you just have to be better than the worst.

8. You Don’t Need to Spend Money

As you play Fall Guys, you’ll earn Kudos. The season pass is one way to rack up Kudos, but you also earn it by fulfilling challenges and participating in special events. Kudos can be exchanged in the store for decorative items like costumes and color schemes.

You can purchase cosmetics with real money, but you absolutely don’t need to do that. (Note: A currency called Show-Bucks is required to acquire select items, available for purchase in the Fall Guys store.) Decorative items like costumes and theatrics do nothing to actually enhance your gameplay; they’re just for show. Playing naturally earns you plenty of in-game currency to exchange for decorative goodies.

9. Some Tips for the In-Game Shop

The in-game shop (which, again, you don’t need to spend real money at) has an array of items that are regularly cycled in and out. Kudos Items are available to every player and exist for around a week, whereas Daily Items are random and last for just 24 hours. That means if you see a Daily Item that you want to redeem, you should try to earn the Kudos for it soon, because you never know when it’ll be back in your shop.

I advise checking the store when you start playing so you know if you have a Kudos earning goal or not. (I may be guilty of playing for hours at a time just to earn enough Kudos to make my Guy look like a rainbow beverage.)

10. How to Customize Your Bean

If you want to switch up the look of your Guy, navigate to the clothes hanger tab on the main menu. Here, you can choose from different patterns, clothes, and theatrics. Earn more customization options by participating in season passes or redeeming your Kudos in the shopping cart tab.

11. Take Your Time, Losing Is Also Fun!

Photograph: Devolver Digital

This is a no-brainer, but the best way to get better is simply to play. Over time, you’ll learn how to navigate each board, how to avoid certain obstacles, and how to deal with your cursed, top-heavy beanbag body. Don’t get discouraged by losses, either. Keep playing and you’ll be a pro in no time.

12. Take Advantage of the Season Pass

While it used to be free, the season pass for Fall Guys now costs around $8. Although buying the season pass is necessary to unlock all the available cosmetics, numerous cool items can be unlocked without spending a dime. After each game you play, you accrue Fame, which is akin to experience points. Over time, as you play more and earn more Fame, you’ll automatically get rewards like costumes, theatrics, and name tags.

13. Play Defense

Photograph: Devolver Digital

In team events where you have to work together, the best offense can be a good defense. If other players on your team are playing aggressively, stay close to your side and try to foil the plans of players attempting to score.

14. Tips for Tricky Boards

In general, try to avoid the edges of suspended ground so that if you fall, you don’t fall off. Always keep your joystick pointed in the direction you’re trying to go; if your fallen Guy manages to get back up, you want to ensure that he knows where to head next. In games where you’re trying to avoid other players, turn on player names—that’ll help you be aware of everyone’s whereabouts. In rounds with spinning discs, don’t try to fight the floor—let it carry you closer to your objective.

There are plenty of tips for specific maps across the net, but here are a few that might help.

• Door Dash: Don’t try to go rogue. Attempting to smash down doors and avoid the crowd is risky. Instead, navigate to doors that are already open, and let the crowd carry you forward.
• Knight Fever: That big, swinging, spiked log toward the end? That’s the community-dubbed Thicc Bonkus, and it’s a real pain. Try sticking to the middle of the path and timing your run so you avoid the pendulous obstacle. You can jump over the smaller holes in the ground, too.
• The Whirlygig: A well-timed dive can yeet you past the spinning fan blades and straight to freedom.
• See Saw: Stick to the middle of the saws and try to anticipate which direction the next one is tilting. Keep your joystick tilted while you’re trying to balance—it can help you fight gravity long enough to stave off a fall.
• Perfect Match: Focus on the tiles immediately around you and try not to pay much attention to the ones on the opposite corner of the board.

15. Spectate

Spectating happens automatically when you’re eliminated, or if you qualify before other players. It’s a great schadenfreude tool, allowing you to giggle gleefully at your opponents’ demise, but it’s also useful. Observing how other players breeze past obstacles will teach you lessons for future gameplay.

16. Remember Who You Are

It might sound silly, but one trick that can help you be a better player is to remember which Guy is your Guy. The game is full of neon colors and obnoxious patterns, and if you lose track of which character is yours, you’ll surely end up running in the wrong direction at some point. A distinctive headpiece or costume can make it easier.

17. To Sabotage or Not to Sabotage?

Some players like to troll other players by grabbing them, oftentimes near tricky obstacles or right before the finish line. If that’s your play style, keep a close eye on the Qualified counter in the upper-right corner—or someone might beat you to the ultimate objective while you’re making mischief.