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Undisputed Review – IGN

ByVanessa

Oct 8, 2024

Boxing fans have endured far too long without a serious competitor stepping forward in the video game space. The last true heavyweight in the genre that Punch-Out brought to life, Fight Night Champion set the bar high with its weighty focus on realism over a decade ago in 2010. Presumably called Undisputed from developer Steel City Interactive, the game sees the plucky underdog knocking on the door to dethrone the king, but while it's a split decision in some areas, it's clear that the newcomer has a bit more time to spare before he can end this particular dispute.

It has to be said that Undisputed does an excellent job of capturing a compelling simulation of what it's like to rise in the world of boxing with its career mode. Right from the start, I was impressed by the character customization options. There are dozens of hairstyles, tattoos and wardrobe options, giving free rein to create an imposing, serious character or recreate real fighters thanks to the comprehensive character model system. You can even create a crazy monstrosity, similar to the WWE 2K series, as the creation center lets you stretch out faces, give big Dumbo ears, or rock a green afro that resembles a chia pet.

Undisputed – screenshots from September 2024

In addition to this visual creativity, Undisputed also features different fighting styles, both in terms of cosmetic animation and functional gameplay. Emulate Mike Tyson by creating an offensive brawler with a swarmer that focuses on inside power punches, or float like Muhammed Ali by using reach as an outside fighter who wears down an opponent's health with quick strikes while he uses up his stamina by dodging instead of blocking.

I created my character using The Wall archetype, which focuses on defense. While I may have sacrificed stamina and strength, the benefit of increased protection that reduces the damage of incoming strikes and increases accuracy when landing strikes was worth the tradeoff. I found this worked out in the long run, but my lack of power and speed, combined with the slowness of uncontested fights early in career mode when stats are lower, required some patience.

In my first four fights, my character's stamina was depleted after just a few hits, resulting in many fights ending in a decision. This is the only area in Undisputed where realism can drain my gameplay stamina as quickly as my character's. After two or three matches I was in a jam and wished the fights were more arcade-like – I wanted to knock out an idiot for a change.

Luckily, Undisputed's approach to setting up each fight was enough to keep me entertained even when the fights themselves didn't. It follows an RPG approach to negotiating and training opponents, mirroring how the process works in real life. I had control over almost everything, including which challenger I chose (as part of the leaderboard), how much of the fight revenue I received, and even how much time I had to spend on social media promoting the fight.

Successful negotiations before each competition lead to improvements in important features such as fame, attribute improvements and the time you have to spend on training. As you improve your fame, you will have to fight against better opponents. Fighting better opponents leads to more money and improved stats. You'll need to improve your attributes before you can engage in these battles, so allocating resources and time is a delicate balance.

Additionally, you have tasks to complete in the weeks leading up to an event. They can be spent training to be battle-ready, resting to improve endurance and ensure injury-free, or engaging in social media to achieve the level of advancement necessary for the game in the first place Fight is necessary. Weight also plays an important role: if you spend too much time training and resting, you may end up overweight, which would mean that the fight doesn't count – not only do you get less fame and money, but you also risk Injuries without gaining anything.

Finally, managing the contracts of your coach, cutman and manager is also crucial in Undisputed. Each staff member has skills and perks that enhance your fighter's characteristics, and they grow with every victory at your side. Initially, I wanted to keep the same manager throughout my career, hoping to create a bond similar to Rocky and Mickey. However, the further I progressed in my career, the more the benefits of staying on the same team faded into the background. Yes, I lost a few buffs when I had to start with a new trainer, but with the extra skill slots – combined with the similar base stats that came with the better staff – I was able to recruit with my higher notoriety, and that's what made it work As the career mode progresses, the original team can be easily replaced. As I was offered more and more significant advantages to drive my loyal crew crazy, this decision was more of a no-brainer.

Back in the ring, with these enhanced stats allowing me to be more active, it didn't take many fights before I began to appreciate the flow and rhythm of Undisputed's combat. Finding the right combination of quick jabs and powerful punches and attacking the chess, body or head depending on the opponent's weaknesses and defenses was very satisfying. Just like in real life, damage adds up and plays a crucial role in battles.

Consistently target one side of the head with a solid combination of jabs or powerful hook shots, and nasty cuts or puffy eyes will result. Not only do these affect stats like accuracy, but they can also result in technical knockouts (TKOs) where the referee stops the fight. However, the more I played Undisputed, the more I missed these mechanics when compared directly to the 14-year-old Fight Night Champions.

There are a handful of different types of cuts, bruises, and swelling in this game. There is also a Cutman mini-game between each round, which, if completed successfully, further increases the fighter's health and wear. In comparison, Undisputed's wear and tear is limited to the same three swellings, cuts, and bruises in each fight, which quickly becomes repetitive. There's also no cutman mini-game or round-to-round interaction to break up the routine.

The lack of mini-games leading up to battles is also a missed opportunity. Instead of automating every training burst, adding an option to hit the speed bag or manually edit defensive skills that can be applied to in-ring actions would have been a helpful way to prepare. This is a standard tutorial method in sports games like EA Sports FC 25 and NBA 2K25, so I was disappointed that this wasn't included in Undisputed.

In fact, the only mini-game that Undisputed includes is ridiculously hard – although to be fair, it shouldn't be all that easy to get up if someone has thrown you onto your back. When your fighter is on the ground, you need to press and focus the right and left triggers to line it up with the green bars and make the count. The problem is that the rods are in different places. So it's a bit like trying to rub your head and stomach at the same time so your fingers can do different things with precision. Improving stats like Hearts also doesn't help make this mini-game any easier. This is particularly a problem on higher difficulties, especially after I had trouble getting back up after being knocked down twice, while my opponent was getting back on his feet after being knocked down seven times.

While the gameplay is fast and fun when you're fighting better boxers, it doesn't look great in motion, and in that regard it still falls well short of where the Fight Night series left off. Knockdowns and rising animations are identical every time, offering about as much personality and variety as the commentary team. While I appreciate that Steel City Interactive brought in pros like Todd Grisham and Johnny Nelson to commentate on fights, their descriptions of the action rarely matched what was happening in the ring. They also had terrible memories: one moment they were calling it an even round, only to make a completely opposite statement a few seconds later when the bell rang, about my character being dominant. It sounds like they took a few too many hits to the head.

Dizzying camera angles and cornermen standing at ringside popping into frame and blocking the fight also made for some pretty frustrating moments. These are minor things, but I definitely felt the tension slipping away as I got close to the ropes and ended up feeling like I was stuck behind a big guy in the middle of the theater.

The multiplayer mode is fun, but be prepared to encounter the usual players who only choose the most powerful characters Muhammad Ali and Canelo Alvarez. Since there's nothing to balance online, these battles don't offer the variety they should. It's best to play with friends or hope to find an opponent who wants to fight with equal fighters. Otherwise, you'll end up frustrated every time you face The Great One – which feels like the modern equivalent of fighting OddJob in GoldenEye.