Hitting people over the head with a textured, too-hard rubber ball is pretty fun, but probably cruel, and not something we've had the opportunity to do (at least legally) since we were teenagers. Today's announcement of "Knockout City" offers a virtual alternative to the real thing: a three-on-three dodgeball game that, roughly speaking, turns the sport into an arena shooter.

"Knockout City" will be released this May by publisher EA Originals and upstate New York-based developer Velan Studios: Home Circuit. This game is not my area of expertise, but yesterday I was invited by EA and this studio to play a few games of "Knockout City" to see what it is all about. There will be a closed beta this weekend, so if you're interested in playing it (you can apply for access on Steam).

One of the key differences between "Knockout City" and a typical arena shooter is that precise aiming is not involved at all. This is extremely important because the two types of players are expected to be mixed: "Knockout City" allows for cross-play and progression sharing between Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC.

Instead of aiming, simply look in the direction of your opponent while holding the ball (which you catch or pick up here and there on the map) and your prey will be automatically targeted. Left click to throw the ball at the opponent or hold and release to charge it and throw it faster. Press Q or E first to throw a curve ball or lob the ball upward like a cannonball to clear obstacles such as pillars or bridges, or to throw off the target's timing Tap the F button to fake it Tap the F button to fake it Tap the F button to fake it Tap the F button to fake it Tap the F button to fake it Tap the F button to fake it Tap the F button to fake it

If you can't fool your opponent, they will just tap the right mouse button to catch the ball and hack it away. Or at least, your opponent will try to do so. However, even a good player can be tricky at close range and must start the catch animation the moment the opponent starts throwing the ball.

Passing the ball to an ally is also possible, and in my experience has been an effective way to trick an opponent who always expects you to throw an offensive ball first. There are also special balls, such as bomb balls, where the player himself curls up into a ball and can throw it to his teammates. If the player ball hit the opponent, it was an instant KO, but if it was caught instead, it could be used by the opponent or thrown overhand off the map.

If the player is knocked off the map, thrown off the map, or beaned once with the player ball and twice with the regular ball, the player is KO'd and must wait a few seconds to respawn. The most basic mode is Team Deathmatch, in which players compete for KOs. We also played a mode where KO'd players drop diamonds and collect them to score points, and another mode where the ball does not spawn on the map, so you have to either throw your teammates or pick up the ball yourself. This means that we have now covered three of the five playlists that will be available at launch. There are also five maps.

The Knockout City game I played (which a large number of press and streamers were also learning) was best when I got into a brief stalemate with my opponent and repeatedly faked and double-faked one ball back and forth. These one-on-one duels only lasted a few pitches, as it was difficult to time the catch at first, but at a higher level of play, they should be followed by long rallies in Knockout City.

Of course, I am assuming that there is a high level of play in Knockout City, and that is not a certainty. It is not uncommon these days for a multiplayer game to have a brief flurry of activity at launch and then the number of players drops dramatically to less than 100. Another game, Rocket Arena, published by EA Originals, has only 1,102 simultaneous players on Steam at its peak, with only 32 players on Steam at the time of this writing. Other recent arena shooters have had limited success. Battle Royale, CS:GO, Rainbow Six Siege, and recent hit FPSes like Escape from Tarkov and Valorant, even well-known names like Quake Champions have failed to break through.

Even if Knockout City were a huge success, it would be an exception, given that so many perfectly good arena-style games have failed in recent years.

There are also some things about "Knockout City" that I just don't like. The levels and characters are styled like a mashup of futuristic art deco, 50's greaser, 80's graphic design, "Overwatch" style, and "Fortnite" smug dancing. (Unless the kids these days are into pompadours and bowling shirts and I'm out of touch with the world.)

The interface is also somewhat unappealing to me. In particular, the way the game loads into the practice area at startup seems like an annoying waste of time for experienced players who just want to get into the game.

For "Knockout City" to be an exception, a couple of points might be helpful. For one, while not entirely unique, the throw-and-catch dynamic seems novel so far. (At least it's not "just an arena shooter" (although I doubt it will really be better than the wonderful and perhaps underrated ball-based combat of "Lethal League").

Second, "Knockout City" will be released on consoles and PC and will be crossplayable. With a small number of players, there can be a bad loop where long queues cause people to stop playing the game, and then the queue gets longer because no one is playing. Cross-play helps avoid that.

Finally, it will also help that there is no barrier to trying "Knockout City" because the full game will be temporarily free to play at launch. After the free period, the price will be an affordable $20. (As for in-game purchases after that, it is possible to buy cosmetics, and only cosmetics, with real money, but the developer says it is also possible to unlock them through play.)

Knockout City will be released on May 21 of this year, with the PC version available on both Steam and Origin. If you want to try it out before then, there will be a two-day closed beta starting this Saturday, February 20, and those who want access can request it from the Steam store page. (We're glad to see Steam's new features being utilized)