The Knockout City free trial is back, and this time it's sticking around.
Velan Studios' online game of arena dodgeball combat launched with a free 10-day trial as part of its Block Party launch event. Five million players have now given Knockout City a try, and Velan's new plan to keep welcoming curious new players into the brawl goes like this: now you can download the game on any platform and start playing for free, but your Street Rank progression will be limited to level 25 until you purchase the full version.
It took me four or five hours of gameplay to reach level 25, so you should be able to get a pretty good feel for the game by the time you reach that point. Plus, it sounds like you'll be able to keep playing matches, you just won't unlock any further Street Ranks and their accompanying rewards, which include cosmetic items to customize your character, XP boosts, and Holobux to spend at the in-game cash shop.
If you're not an unlock-driven person, you could easily play forever on this trial. Granted, your experience would be limited in a couple of other ways: free accounts aren't allowed to join Knockout City's clan-like Crews, which cuts off another avenue of progression as Crews can complete their own challenges to earn unlocks, and free accounts also can't play in private matches.
On top of the free trial, don't forget that Knockout City is also available free on EA Play - which means it's also free on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate since it includes bundled-in access to EA Play.
If you haven't given Knockout City a try yet, you should - I got the chance to review it for GamesRadar, and found it to be a unique new take on competitive multiplayer action which is easy to pick up and hard to put down even after dozens of rounds. Knockout City is still early in its first season, titled Welcome to Knockout City, so now is an ideal time to jump in.
Knockout City earned a spot on our in-progress list of the best games of 2021 - see what else we've loved this year.
