Fall Guys’ seesaw level is a true mirror of the soul

Fall Guys is a delightful battle royale elimination game where a host of jelly beans run through crowded, cartoon obstacle courses towards a goal. All contestants look alike, even though they wear goofy outfits like a burger or a pigeon-pirate, and they often blend together as one jostling mass. But there’s one map that shows what lies within the heart of each individual Fall Guy, and it’s a chaotic zone of griefing and despair: See Saw.

See Saw is a course made up of parallel narrow paths that are only accessible by seesaw platforms. At first glance, it seems in line with a course like Gate Crash or Whirlygig. But after a few runs of the course, it becomes clear that every bean is truly out for themselves, and See Saw occasionally grinds to a halt.

Unlike other courses, See Saw makes players sit and wait to get to the next platform. As the game has reached more players, and people sink more time into it, the gap between the first players and the last ones grows wider, and that makes the problem worse. The first place finisher has won their way into the next round, but that triumph is dulled by having to wait for the rest of the jelly beans to correctly balance the boards. You have to wait for strangers to be benevolent, or at least patient, and that’s rare.

In a way, See Saw has become a window into every player’s soul. It’s like taking public transit and watching people stand on the wrong side of the escalator, or try to board the subway train before everyone’s disembarked. The map requires collective action, and the fact that so many of these little jelly bean competitors are unable to think about anyone but themselves becomes almost disheartening.

This is fertile ground for griefers as well. Not only does See Saw have the titular, problematic seesaws, but there are also lots of choke points along the paths that make for an excellent opportunity to grab one’s enemies. One time, I found myself unable to reach one path. The other path, the one I could reach, had four identical orange beans standing there staring at me. It was a terrible choice.

No other stage in Fall Guys has so much interpersonal contact combined with having to simply wait, especially if you’re at the back of the pack, and that makes it special. At times, it’s absolutely infuriating, and it feels like you’re being punished for crimes by some cosmic power. A few times, I’ve seen someone carefully run along a platform to balance it out and help everyone behind them, and that warmed my heart. So far, it feels like one of the most controversial maps in Fall Guys, and that might be because it reveals so much about its players.