Fall Guys | ESRB Ratings

What Parents Need to Know About Fall Guys

Max Jay, Assistant Director, Communications — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 15:11:15 +0000

You don’t often find a game that is easy to play, funny, and appropriate for all ages, but Fall Guys delivers that joyful experience consistently. Fall Guys manages to capture the magic of a gameshow with contestants competing in silly obstacle courses for meaningless prizes, making it a perfect game to play with the whole family!

Now that Fall Guys is free-to-play and cross-platform, it’s likely to become a fun video game staple among your kids – much like Minecraft or Fortnite did. Read on for everything you need to know.

What is Fall Guys?

Fall Guys is rated E for Everyone, with Content Descriptors for Mild Cartoon Violence and Interactive Elements that include Users Interact and In-Game Purchases.

Initially released by developer Mediatonic in 2020, Fall Guys is an online multiplayer game where up to 60 players (referred to as Beans) are dropped into a series of goofy game show-like challenges. Every round several Beans are eliminated until only a handful remain to vie for the Crown in a chaotic finale. The more Crowns your kids’ get, the higher their Crown level will be, which unlocks unique cosmetics to customize their Beans. Your kids can also get Crown Shards by completing in-game challenges to raise their crown level. This way, even if they don’t come in first place, they can still get rewarded.

Fall Guys regularly introduces new “Seasons”, which usher in new games, cosmetics, and objectives. After two years of updates, there are dozens of different games, all categorized under specific criteria. From obstacle course races to timed matching logic games, gameplay is varied by the minute in simple but significant ways. All these games are paired with a physicality that can lead to truly entertaining results.

In terms of core gameplay, the most intense experience you’ll find is a little Bean falling into some slime and getting eliminated (looking at you Slimescraper…). That said, the game does allow players the ability to communicate with others as they compete. This is not a

requirement though! I’ve played many hours of Fall Guys and have literally never spoken to another person. There are cooperative (co-op) game modes where speaking with your partners may make the game easier and more fun, but again, it’s not at all a requirement and most people tend to play off mic.

For each game type there are several different levels, so you never know exactly what you’re going to get. Regardless, you can expect a lot of running, jumping, grabbing, tripping, falling, and launching.

Where Can You Find Fall Guys?

Fall Guys can be found on most of the latest game platforms. This includes the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and PCs (via the Epic Games Store).

It’s also worth noting that Fall Guys includes cross progression. This means that you can play on your computer and, as long as you’re logged into the same Epic account, pick up where you left off on your console!

How Much Does Fall Guys Cost?

Fall Guys is free but, like many free-to-play games (including Rocket League and Fortnite), it offers cosmetic items for purchase. In some cases, these cosmetics can also be unlocked through regular gameplay, but others may require making an additional purchase.

The game contains two different currencies: Kudos and Show Bucks. Kudos are unlocked through regular play, and your kids can get more by placing higher in rounds or completing certain challenges. Meanwhile, Show Bucks are only available as part of the Season Pass or in exchange for real money. Both Kudos and Show Bucks can be traded for specific cosmetics in the game store.

Show-Bucks can also be used to purchase a Season Pass, which offers additional rewards for continued play. For example, your kids will gain experience points called “Fame” for every round they play. The higher they place in a round (or Episode), the more Fame they earn. The Fame is then tallied and – for lack of a better term – they gain levels. Each level will unlock something, including Kudos, Show Bucks, or new colors, costumes, and patterns.

It’s important to remember that none of the cosmetic items impact the actual gameplay; they are there to offer a fun way for your kids to customize their Bean.

Setting Limits

There are several options to help you manage your kids’ Fall Guys experiences. We recommend that you start at ParentalTools.org for step-by-step parental controls guides. These guides will help you set parental controls that can manage what your kids play (based on the ESRB-assigned age rating), whether they can play online with others, when and for how long they can play, and whether they can spend money. These controls can be set directly on the game platform and, in some cases, remotely from an associated mobile app, and will cover everything your kids play – not just Fall Guys.

Since Fall Guys is also tethered to an Epic Games account, there is an additional layer of settings for parents to implement if you’d like. Visit this Fall Guys support page for more.

As effective as parental controls are, we always say that the best way to manage what your kids are playing is to stay involved. If you’re interested in some tips to get started, visit our Family Gaming Guide.

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