Undisputed, back to the ring | Review

Lately the gaming market has certainly not been generous to boxing lovers. Apart from last year’s good Creed Rise to Glory Championship Edition, which among other things is a re-edition of a 2018 work, there are in fact very few noteworthy games dedicated to the famous sporting discipline. A leitmotif that Steel City Interactive wants to try to change with Undisputeda video game not to be confused with the saga of the same name dedicated to the UFC from a decade ago and coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series next October 11th.

We reviewed the game with the following PC:

Full version

To be honest, Undisputed is certainly not a new name for lovers of sports video games and boxing. The Steel City Interactive title, in fact, landed on Steam in early access more than a year ago and, only after a careful run-in, is now preparing to arrive in its full version. The British studio, moreover, only opened its doors in 2020, with Undisputed which was born as a simple prototype, only to evolve more and more over time, until arriving at the form that we have been able to try first-hand in recent days.

On October 11th, Undisputed will move from version 0.7 to 1.1. Among the improvements numerous refinements to the gameplaystarting from stamina and damage management up to the opponent’s AI, and also the introduction of the much desired anticaat on Windows. During early access, in fact, one of the main critical points highlighted by the community was related to a high number of online cheaters, with this situation expected to be drastically improved with the official launch of Undisputed.

The tutorial was then expanded and made more intuitive, while the character editing was enriched with further options, such as the possibility of modifying the tone of the various muscle groups of our boxer. Also present vari upgrade alle performance and general game optimization, such as reduced loading times.

Steel City Interactive has finally already promised to support the game for several months to come, both with bug fixings and free content, and with paid DLC. Obviously it’s too early to find out anything more about it, but it’s nice to know that there are already several plans for the future of the game. In any case, not everyone has experienced Undisputed since early access and it is therefore good and right to take a step back and tell you about the title in its entirety.

The way of the champion

Inside Undisputed there are 4 different game modesto which the character editor is added. In addition to the inevitable quick exhibition battles and the online mode, there is also a rich Career mode and a call Prize Fights. The latter in particular offers challenges available for a limited time, which put the player in the middle of an encounter with well-defined variables. The boxers to use, the round in which we enter the game and dedicated scoring systems: these are, for example, just some of the aspects that change in the various Prize Fights matches, with the mode occasionally rotating the challenges available to the player.

However, the highlight of Undisputed is definitely Career mode. Within it, after having created our character or chosen a pre-existing one, we will accompany him from the beginning to the most important stages, making him grow uppercut after uppercut. A path made not only of blows given and taken, but also of planning, recovery and training. Because, as a true expert would say, matches are won in the gym, even before stepping foot in the ring.

The first thing to do, once you have decided to pick up the gloves, is to surround yourself with professionals capable of making our career take off. The first is obviously the coachwho trains us and offers us advice before, during and after battles. Then there is the cutmani.e. the medical officer who impacts our recovery and recovery abilities both between rounds and following a match. Finally, the third professional we have to choose in Undisputed is the managerwhich makes trading easier and allows us to earn more and increase fame faster.

Each of these team members is characterized by a level and characteristics, which they affect the effects and our career. A more expensive coach, for example, requires a higher salary, but will also make us decidedly more dangerous and prepared in the ring. In short, the classic trade-off that we often find ourselves making in similar experiences. Finally, the same mechanism is also present for gyms, with those characterized by a higher price being able to offer more evident improvements compared to less expensive ones.

Another very nice management aspect that Undisputed makes available to players is that of negotiation. When you go looking for the next opponent to face, it is in fact possible to start a phase of contact with him to define the characteristics of the match. Among them, for example, the possibility of publicizing it or not to give more fame to the winner, the prize money, the clause for a possible rematch, the waiting weeks and much more.

After having drawn up a contract, the countdown begins, which we should learn to manage as best as possible between recovery phases, training, media activities and even a bit of diet so as not to exceed the limits of the category. In short, Undisputed, while not offering anything transcendental, is equipped with a well-curated career mode, capable of offering various ideas and numerous satisfactions for fans of the discipline.

Everyone in boxing does well except the boxer

Moving on to the gameplay, Undisputed works very well and, after a short initial adjustment period, it’s really fun to play. Once you have become well acquainted with the combat system created by Steel City Interactive, in fact, it is It’s addictive to move around the ringthrow blows and avoid them at the last moment.

Furthermore, thanks to the large number of different types of punches, footwork, stamina and dodges, there are different variables to learn to take into consideration during the fight and which make Undisputed particularly profound. In short, if you want to become a true master in the ring, you will have to practice a lot.

The varied roster, which includes old glories of the past such as Muhammad Ali and heroes of today, then gives vent to different fighting styles and ways of dealing with clashes. In fact, with some boxers it comes naturally to fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee, while with others it is decidedly more immediate to focus on brute strength. Undisputed therefore delivers definitely different athletes to control and which in turn offer different gaming experiences.

Not everything is obviously perfect in the game of the British studio and for exampleor some animations left us a little to be desired. Nothing sensational, let’s be clear, but there is from time to time an ups and downs between excellent realism and other less convincing animations. Even the management of camera didn’t drive us crazy, given that during battles he often moves around with clear and fast movements that are not exactly suitable for those with weak stomachs.

If you are a mouse and keyboard lover, you should also know that Undisputed is not currently, and probably never will be, playable with these devices. The control system of the game by Steel City Interactive makes extensive use of key combinations and analogue keys, making the job of adapting to the mouse and keyboard perhaps too complex for a team that is certainly not very large. In short, if you don’t have a gamepad, you won’t be able to get into the ring.

Ups and downs

Going back to the animations mentioned earlier, Undisputed as well on the technical side it experiences some ups and downs. Of course, we did not encounter any slowdowns with the configuration present at the beginning of the article with high details in Quad HD, but there is no doubt that not all models and effects are convincing. In fact, some boxers are really well crafted, while others do not hit the mark. The blood and the spectators are not exactly the best. In any case, Steel City Interactive is certainly not equipped with stratospheric budgets and there is no doubt how the final result is overall valuablealthough with some critical issues that are not always negligible.