We’ve got two very, very different battle royales here. One is essentially a mash-up of Takeshi’s Castle and Minions, and the other is a glittering, high-concept sci-fi with a whole lot of cyber-murder and it’s crosshairs aimed on Apex Legends.

Both Hyper Scape and Fall Guys are vying for the belle of the battle royale ball this year, but — like the game’s themselves — there can only be one winner. Which one should you play next? Well, read on as we try to work that out ourselves.

Related: 8 Common Hyper Scape Problems And Possible Solutions

What is Fall Guys?

Fall Guys is an unrepentantly colorful, physics-based platformer that plays a little like Human Fall Flat if it were interbred with a straight-up battle royale and wrapped up in a glossy, candy coating. Chaos ensues as 60 player-controlled, anthropomorphic jellybeans are unleashed across a series of obstacle courses that look something like if Total Wipeout or American Ninja Warrior had a baby with Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, and it’s wild. 

There are over twenty of these surreal levels to compete in, with matches consisting of five rounds designed to rapidly whittle away the player count en route to a final showdown to grab the winning Crown at the end of the final level.

Instead of gun battles and vicious combat, the game zeroes in on a sense of frantic madness as you and the dozens mobbing around you try to get through the course without slipping, falling — or being pushed — off into oblivion. The concept is simple, but the execution is brilliant, and the game ingeniously finds a way to ramp up the tension while making you laugh out loud.

What is Hyper Scape?

Hyper Scape is Ubisoft’s late entrant into the battle royale pool and one that made a lot of noise in the lead up to its debut. The game emphasizes unprecedented mobility and tweaks to the traditional battle royale formula designed to enhance gameplay and smooth out some longstanding design issues in the DNA of the genre.

Set in a far-flung sci-fi metropolis, Hyper Scape makes bold moves to combine elements of classic arena shooters like Quake with the better parts of traditional royales while shucking out certain mechanics that should’ve died a long time ago.

Players can fuse copies of the same weapon for enhanced power (keeping looting relevant to the late game), collect powerups called “hacks” that can be employed alongside traditional gunplay for enhanced combat (creating customizable, more distinct playstyles), and instead of sitting out or exiting the server, players can remain helpful and involved in gameplay even after death, serving as scouts for their team until possibly being resurrected mid-match — making sure your time doesn’t feel wasted.

It’s a big-budget, expansive attempt to rework the classic formula and breathe new life into it without overhauling it completely.

Deciding Factors

Novelty

Both games are still hot off the press with Fall Guys being about a week old and Hyper Scape a little over a month, but they search for novelty in different ways. Where Fall Guys gives us something we haven’t seen before with its Ninja Warrior style mob-rush gameplay, Hyper Scape looks for individuality by attempting to make an already familiar experience better.

If you want something completely unlike any other battle royale Fall Guys is undeniably it. It’s the newest kid on the block in terms of originality. Hyper Scape, on the other hand, is perfect for veterans who like the classic battle royale formula, but desperately want to see it renewed.

Personal Taste

Think: Are you more into platformers or shooters? More into slapstick hijinks or high-stakes PvP? Do you like to ride the wave of popularity or dig deep into a niche game? If you like games with an energized, active community and a more relaxed vibe, Fall Guys would be more up your alley.

If you’re a hardcore gamer with a few years of honed FPS reflexes and multiple tours through Battle royale staples like PUBG, Modern Warfare or Apex, then it might be worth a shot to give Hyper Scape your time first.

Money

Well, Hyper Scape is free to play. And it’s hard to argue against free. But it should be noted that the $19.99 you have to pony up for Fall Guys is pretty affordable compared to some other titles with half the hype, and the game is going strong out the gates.

Age

If you’re buying the game for a younger gamer or for something that you could play with the family, Fall Guys almost certainly wins out. With nothing really in the way of violence and an art style replete with eye-popping colors and literal jellybeans for characters, and Hyper Scape being a high concept sci-fi battle to the death, the line in the sand is pretty easy to see.

Variety

Fall Guys has a bunch of mini-games, whereas hyper scape relies on just two game modes at a time. So it really depends On what kind of customer you are: do you like to buy the variety pack or do you prefer to stock up on the one flavor you like best?

Player Base

While Hyper Scape made a whole lot of noise on the way up to its release, it seems that some momentum has been lost due to balancing issues and a lack of organic traction with streamers. On the other hand, Fall Guys is running laps around the competition with more engagement in its first week than even League of Legends or Fortnite got– a claim backed up by some seriously astounding statistics.

According to the publishers, Devolver Digital, Fall Guys has not only sold over 2 million copies on Steam alone but hosted over 1.5 million matches and been streamed for more than 23 million hours on twitch — in one week.

So it would seem the fall guys will probably post the healthier player base moving forward and only continue to explode — especially if they introduce the seemingly inevitable community-generated content like player-made levels and workshops.

Final Verdict: Fall Guys

Considering it’s free-to-play, you might as well give Hyper Scape a try while keeping an eye on Fall Guys. It seems almost certain that the winds of gaming stardom are blowing in the direction of Fall Guys, but Hyper Scape is itself a game worth playing before you drop the $20 to get your hands on the colorful obstacle course royale.

That said, if you really have to pick one, it seems there are just a few more reasons to go with Fall Guys right now. Not only has it become explosively popular almost instantly, and to rave reviews with near-universal adoration, but the ability of Fall Guys to satisfy you — win or lose — is a uniquely powerful feather in its cap.

Even if you end up getting eliminated in the first minute, the circumstances of your demise alone are going to come with a certain charm. There is something simply electrifying about the wackiness and frantic chaos that comes with the colorful Black Friday mob-style gameplay in Fall Guys. And if you’re laughing whether you win or lose, you know you’re having a good time.