“Undisputed is by far the best boxing simulation I have experienced to-date, with a few minor exceptions.”
…and the new! Gamers have been without a quality, authentic and licensed boxing game for almost 14 years. It is criminal that one of the world’s most globally and culturally relevant sports has been neglected so overtly – but alas, no more! Announcing the challenger, hailing from Steel City Interactive, Sheffield, United Kingdom, please welcome… Undisputed!
Undisputed enters the void of Fight Night with over a decade of fight fans’ outcries and yearning to satisfy. An indie effort with remarkably strong official licencing for boxers, belts and brands alike, Undisputed feels undeniably premium and overwhelmingly exciting on its surface.
From Canelo and Fury donning the box art to an official WBC patch in the premium physical release of the game, this is truly the closest fans have ever been to donning the square ring. And of course, it’s not just the premier artists of the sport you can embody – you can even create a character and travel a fighter’s long road to world championships yourself.
Naturally, the career mode of the game is its most compelling offering. In terms of character creation, I have never felt so overwhelmed by open choice and fine-tuned customisation options. If The Sims has long been upheld as the standard for perfecting one’s avatar, Undisputed frankly takes the biscuit.
Every slider in the book is on offer for every feature of your fighter, albeit with the clause that your edit must be locked-in when you complete the process; only select features like hairstyles can be changed later. But for those players who like to create the perfect specimen of a protagonist before embarking on their journey, Undisputed will truly let you be exactly who you want to be.
Beyond the ability to bring to life your desired aesthetics to a tee, Undisputed’s career mode is engaging, immersive, and at times a little repetitive. The process can largely be split into four stages: employing a gym and team, selecting your preferred fights, managing your prep, media and training, and of course the fights themselves. If you start your journey as a professional rookie, your early gyms and staff will be very basic until you build a reputation.
Picking fights which up your win record but equally push you up the competitive rankings is key to making progress, but early progress can be slow. I found myself fighting the same few fighters several times over in the early game, before building up a base and confidence to pursue more challenging bouts. With a growing rep, through wins and media, you can access staff and gyms with greater perks for your training and management processes, further driving you towards greater things. But there is a notable grind to achieve this.
More important than the logistical choices and staffing decisions, however, are the training and fights themselves. Training is a process of carefully balancing stat boosts, preparedness and energy levels to make sure you enter your fights well-prepared. Too little prep in any given category absolutely impacts your ability in the ring. Undisputed is by far the best boxing simulation I have experienced to date, with a few minor exceptions.
Careful fight management and throwing the right punches at the right times are absolutely within your capabilities with well-thought-out controls and intelligent simulation. Whilst early fights or clear skill mismatches may allow you to slug out with a few opponents, more challenging bouts test your ability to employ smart timing, solid defence, tactical decision making and all-around fight management to exploit your opponent’s weaknesses and play to your gameplans; pretty reminiscent of the real deal.
Health and stamina management are key as longer round counts come into play, and not every fight can be a knockout contest. Being rash rarely pays off – especially as balance versus the AI comes into question in the mid-game…
The one area in which I felt Undisputed lacked somewhat was the difficulty spike against mid-ranked opponents. The first fights are pretty easy battles which can often be taken by knockout. Naturally, higher-ranked opponents are and indeed should be more challenging to defeat, but not impossible. Sometimes it felt like the points should be well in my favour, or that my opponent had taken an immeasurable amount of damage to still be standing, but somehow I was beaten on the scorecards (and, seemingly, by stats over actual skill).
Reaching above the 50-40 rankings felt like the longest part of the game for this reason, and this was the only time I felt frustrated with the game outside of repetitive, game-stalling count animations and an overly challenging recovery minigame when you are the victim of a knockdown. I’ve no problem with a rough fight, provided my smart approach is not overruled by baseline stats. If I choose to take a risk against a tough fighter, I’d rather win or lose on merit and performance than through seemingly illogical judging decisions (on more than one occasion).
All in all, however, Undisputed made me happy. A little repetitiveness and some outrageous scorecards aside, I felt like I was playing a sports sim for one of my favourite sports of a quality standard comparable to the best of them. From quick matches played with pros to my lofty career aspirations in career mode, every fight was exciting to enter, challenging to win and as intense as the real deal. It’s a great feat from an indie studio and a fantastic representation of the sport of boxing in video game form.
Easy to learn but hard to master, Undisputed is the dream game for boxing and gaming fans, and an easy pick-up-and-play title which looks like it will easily stand the test of time – dare I say it with great competitive opportunities should the team seek to pursue them. If you want to live the dream and be the champ, this is the way to do it. …and the new, indeed!
Undisputed Trailer
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