oooooooo I've been WAITING ever since I first discovered this ages ago for it to release and oh my god it's better then I couldve ever dreamed

the music is a absolute BOP. Also the graphics look rrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaallllyyyyyy cool.

Got every achievement in 0.6.6.7, might as well say my piece
The "recommend/do not recommend" binary can't help the extent of my feelings on KNOCKOFF and how I'd sell people on it, but in the interest of supporting it, hell yeah I ride with it

The mad experiment of trying to make a new type of fighting game is one I will always champion, and I do think KNOCKOFF is fun. Maybe the way you go from bouncing like mad to getting curbstomped in place by certain hits that delete 70%-100% of your health can be frustrating, but the strong hits and long ranges don't just have a heavy, GNARLY feel when they land, but go both ways in every match, making for a game that is very volatile but very fun.

Aesthetics are my jam. Usually I'm more reserved about just doing cool things, but KNOCKOFF is shameless and confident in its mall+surrealism pitch and the currently 3 characters hit some very nice spots for the possibilities the setting has. This is helped by, oddly, the game's jank. With the polygon aesthetics and the abstract, the undetailed environments and bleeding lights do genuinely sell the non-euclidean nightmare of the mall. It's something I love in games like Everhood, punching above your weight to convey a greater sense of the abstract world by hitting and challenging the ceiling of the graphics you are working with? I find is extremely commendable and even impressive-looking.

It also, unlike most FGs, has interesting story hooks! Chapter 1 is very vague and I don't think I learned much from its previous release in demo, but it's actually quite intriguing, all while it doubles as a tutorial. In teaching fundamentals it's got lows (moving light section is slightly too long) and highs (The introduction of heavies is an actual showcase of character, story and gameplay strength I've never seen done better in a FG, genuinely) so overall it's nice and brisk, didn't miff me doing it again, and doing so made me find extra background lore, so again! Interesting story hooks!

I'm lenient on it here, but while the jank gets masked or even helps the grungy surrealism, it's also jank. Problems like getting stuck on model edges in Chapter 1's cardboard boxes or Amy's axe getting caught on some piece of stage ground, the hitboxes showing sometimes(I don't know to what extent I did this one), and VERY poor menu navigation that is a pain on keyboard/controller and off-base on mouse,
wrap around the game's aesthetics and mechanics as an aid AND an issue, to the point I wonder what is real and what is a bug. As it develops it'll become more clear, and I want to see what picture that paints, but for 0.6.6.7, be warned that you may experience paranoia.
I'll ride along and wait for matchmaking to see how 'game balance' goes, and I invite you to hop on (for free?) if you like what you see,
Because personally, I see bright things
nested in the shadows of
***KNOCKOFF***