Knockout City, one of 2021's surprise hits that I can't get enough of, is getting a bundle of new stuff when Season 2 starts in July. Announced today in a blog post from developer Velan Studios, Knockout City Season 2 will kick off on July 27 with a new special ball type, a new map, special events (like the Heatwave event going on right now), contracts, and cosmetics.
If you've been dodgebrawling as much as I have, a new special ball and map will sound pretty good right about now. Counting the Jukebox Junction map added in the game's first few weeks, there are only six total locations. Each map has its own gimmick that can significantly impact how a match plays out (Galaxy Burger's trash chutes and Knockout Roundabout's traffic come to mind), so I'm eager to see what else Velan has up its sleeve. Maybe it's time to brawl at the beach with sand that affects jumping?
This is all outlined in the updated official roadmap that roughly outlines the next six months of KO City:
The new special ball type is even more intriguing. There's a pretty good variety with the current pool of five (Moon Ball, Sniper Ball, Cage Ball, Multi Ball, and Bomb Ball), but the community has definitely found its favorites (and least-favorites) since launch. I share some of the complaints I've read about the Sniper Ball slowing down the action too much or the Multi Ball being too easy to spam. It's unclear if Velan has plans to balance existing balls, so I'd love to get more ball types in the mix ASAP to increase the likelihood of playing with one I actually enjoy.
What kind of ball is on the way? Velan is teasing something to do with balloons in a recent tweet, but that seems related to a new cosmetic or something, so don't take it as a sign that a Balloon Ball is on the horizon (though I'm now curious what that'd be like).
The beauty of KO City's special balls is that they can be basically anything, so here's my idea: the Ricochet Ball, a dollar store bouncy ball-style ball that can automatically draw a path to an out-of-reach enemy by bouncing off multiple surfaces on the way. Kinda similar to what a normal curveball can already do, but cranked up to 11.
In the meantime, Velan is keeping players busy with Knockout City's Heatwave event for a few more weeks. If you haven't toured each map to pick up popsicles or completed the simplest contracts to earn some easy cosmetics, now's the time.
