There hasn’t been a decent boxing video game released since Fight Night Champion way back in 2011. Developer Steel City Interactive aims to change that and Undisputed is now in early access on Steam. We have gone more than twelve rounds already, and are ready to share our first look preview.

Read on for more.

Boxing used to be the number one fighting sport genre across the world, and almost every year developers like EA Sports would give us a new title to jump into the ring with. For a myriad of reasons, MMA has supplanted the sweet science of boxing atop the sports world and video games followed suit. While EA Sports does have some style of boxing, with some of the past and current top rated fighters, in their UFC franchise, their Fight Night franchise has been dead in the water since Fight Night Champion released in 2011 and we haven’t had a decent boxing simulator since. Developer Steel City Interactive aims to change that with Undisputed.

Undisputed Early Access Preview – A Work in Progress

First and foremost, the one thing you need to remember is that this game is in Early Access on Steam. What that means, basically, is that you will be playing an enhanced beta that is constantly being updated and improved. With that being said, the gameplay itself and the roster of fighters included makes this game extremely playable right now and well worth the US $29.99 price tag. We won’t be giving the game a final rating out of ten until full release and we look forward to playing this on our PS5.

Undisputed Early Access Preview – Controllers Only

Undisputed can only be played using a game controller, so be sure to plug your Xbox or PlayStation controller into your PC before launching the game. The controls are much like Fight Night Champion, and punches can be thrown using either the buttons or the right analog stick. You’ll be taken to an onboarding game mode to start with, and we strongly suggest you play through the entire sequence. It introduces you to every aspect of a match, from throwing punches, to blocking, to slipping, and to bobbing and weaving. It also teaches you how to clinch, and how to get up off the canvass when you get knocked down.

The transition from blocking to throwing a punch is a little slow, but the animations are very smooth. You can tell that a lot of work went into getting the details just right when landing a punch and when getting smacked. Reactions by the fighters are spot on, and seeing a fighter’s head snap back after a solid straight jab is somewhat pleasing. We started to pound away at Canelo’s left eye in a fight just to see how much damage we could give him, and the blood started flowing. Things like swelling need some work, and the damage inflicted could be improved upon cosmetically, but it’s a start. The mechanics of the game are already great, and that’s the main thing.

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Undisputed Early Access Preview – The Fighters

A boxing video game needs more than just a handful of generic fighters to choose from. It needs big names from today and yesterday, and Undisputed does a great job of name dropping not only some of the top fighters today, but Hall of Fame boxers like Ali, Fraser, and Sugar Ray Leonard. The game already has over fifty licensed fighters from all over the world, and across multiple weight classes and genders. The Gypsy King, also known as the linear World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury, can face off against Deontay Wilder for a fourth rematch, or you can see how he might fare against a smaller, but super powerful Smoking Joe Fraser. Maybe you can rope-a-dope Fury with Ali, or maybe you want Ali and Fraser to rematch.

All of the fighters in Undisputed have been impressively recreated and look jut like their real life counter-parts. Fight styles are mimicked perfectly, with taunts and celebrations that are unique to that fighter. Hearing Jimmy Lennon Jr. announcing each fighter may make you forget that you are playing a video game.

Undisputed Early Access Preview – What’s Missing

With Undisputed being in Early Access, there are a few things missing that will be included eventually. There is no career mode yet, and that’s something we are looking forward to. With career mode, we we are also hoping for a full fledged create-a-fighter mode where maybe we can import our own likeness into the game, much like the Fight Night franchise, but we haven’t heard much about that mode yet.

As of right now, you can fight offline in a quick match against the CPU, or go online and fight in ranked matches against other online opponents. Lost connections will result in a loss, though, so keep that in mind. There is also a Prize Fight leaderboard where you can take on different match-ups at preset difficulties, and then get ranked on how well you fared.

Undisputed Early Access Preview – What’s to come

Undisputed is a work in progress, but there is still much more to come. Developer Steel City Interactive has already released a roadmap for the upcoming year, and we look forward to watching the game grow.

If you are looking for an excellent boxing experience, look no further than Undisputed.

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