Knockout City(LAUNCH) Review

With Summer on the horizon and my high school life coming to a close, my life is going to change, going to college, working 50+ hours a week, etc., I need a game that can take me back. Back to the good old days of Gym Class in middle school and PE in Elementary School. This game is that Nostalgic boost I needed. Dodgeball, its a simple sport and now, its gotten a whole lot cooler, with homing balls, the ability to use your teammates as dodgeballs, and the ability to tackle your enemies makes the once fast-paced classic gym class game even more fast paced.

Aesthetic
This game is very pretty, which is no surprise, considering this game was published by EA, but a pretty game doesn't just make aesthetic, artwork, design, vibe, and music make aesthetic. This game covers that, with a sort of Cyberpunky summer in the 90's aesthetic, it accomplishes that very well, the music is like that of Subway Surfers(which actually isn't too bad, it fits, though music can get annoying.) The announcer's voice is top-notch, character's clothing is designed well to fit both body types, and overall, I really enjoy the aesthetic of this game, it really adds to the fun, its cartoony and not-so serious.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/779937678266335304/846518557386080316/koc_blog_9_brawlin_beta_2_featured_image.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/779937678266335304/846518677020344340/knock-citycenter.png
Overall, I feel this game's aesthetic gets a solid 8/10, my main problem with the game being that most of the character's faces are kinda ugly lol. Maps are great looking though.
Gameplay
This game shines in gameplay. Its fucking great, one of the few games I actually was screaming in joy and anger alongside my friends. You throw a ball at someone, they might catch it or get hit. Up-close battles get intense. I can't even put into words how much I enjoy the gameplay of this game. Its just tremendous, with the ability to throw curveballs, lob-shots, and more, you can throw your teammates and blow up your enemies with them, you can get a sniper ball, you can even get a ball that gives you anti-gravity. Its a boatload of fun, especially with friends. Games are 3v3, so they're rather fast paced, especially with the maps being as small as they are. Luckily, maps aren't super small, allowing you to run away like a pansy if you have to. Overall I really like this game, 10/10.

Pay to Win/Battlepasses
Sorta? You can pay for money and shit, but you don't have to. Battle passes are free and you can earn money just by playing, through contracts and stuff. Plus money is only used for boosters and cosmetics, which only gives you XP, which only unlocks more cosmetics.

Performance
Runs well, No lag at all. Im not sure for those with lesser systems, so I won't fully rate this for you guys, but for me it runs well. 10/10. I am able to run this game well on a 2070 super, 16 gigs of DDR4 ram, and an i7 9700k

Overall
At launch, this game is surprisingly good, especially for an EA game, with little to no micro-transactions and hell, no micro-transactions are required. I am excited to see this game going forward and I wish the devs nothing but the best. 9/10, this game is fucking great. Also, try this game out!!! It's free on steam till 5/30.