Undisputed (Early Access) Review: More Of A Hot Prospect Than A Champion

Boxing fans have been horrifically neglected by the gaming powers that be in recent years. The last notable release was 2011's "Fight Night: Champion," and that — like many EA sporting releases — is an unpatched, buggy, mess. Champion came out in what was a pretty weak heavyweight era, as evidenced by the Klitschkos being the only notable big boys of the day in the game. But now things are exciting again. Tyson Fury has turned the Hollywood division into the WWE, and the lighter divisions are also star-packed. You have Canelo carving out a legacy between Welterweight and Light Heavyweight. The Welterweight division itself is arguably the most competitive — though undefeated welterweight champs Errol Spence and Terrance Crawford have yet to meet in the ring. Names like Tank Davis, Shakur Stevenson, and Naoya Inoue keep the lighter divisions exciting. And some YouTubers' playfighting has created an entirely new audience for the sport. 

All in all, it's an ideal time for a new boxing game. But none of the big companies are making one. Instead, it's been left to Steel City Interactive, a small company based in Sheffield, England. Steel City's effort is called "Undisputed," but it isn't actually out yet. It was announced under the name "Esports Boxing Club" way back in 2020. Now, almost three years later it has an Early Access release on Steam. "Fight Night" is still the last (major label) boxing game to get a full release, so it's still the champ by default. But could "Undisputed" be a contender in the near future?

One thing that isn't in the game, but is on the road map, is a career mode. This could be something that makes "Undisputed" truly stand out, as the last few mainstream boxing games have been in the hands of EA, who did the sort of job EA usually do. "Fight Night 3" had the odd repetitive press-conference-based punch up to add "depth," and one of the most shameless bits of product placement in gaming history. One of the elite-level trainers was that terrifying "King" mascot Burger King used. 

"Fight Night: Champion" had a reasonably good story mode — but the "player career" was the same bland, email-based nonsense we had in "Fight Night 4." Oh, and as EA was involved, all of the career modes were packed with game-breaking bugs that were never patched.

So far, the only details we have about "Undisputed's" career mode is that you can: "Climb the ranks to the top in our single-player Career Mode and become "Undisputed." It could be anything from a series of fights against gradually better fighters in your chosen weight class, only broken up with stat-boosting mini-games — to an actual, well-thought-out, plot-driven, boxing experience. And anything in between. While the online play is potentially great, a solid career mode could make "Undisputed's" career side truly stand out. So fingers crossed it's a good one. 

What gives me more hope than anything that "Undisputed" can become a truly definitive boxing game is the learning curve. It's horrendously steep, and you actually need to develop some degree of skill to get good at this game. You can't just wail on someone who's any good and get a lucky knockout. Slipping is a good example. It's a great way to set someone up for a potential fight-changing counter, but to use it effectively, you need to spot what your opponent is throwing, time the slip well, then respond with the correct kind of punch — which is usually a hook or uppercut from the side you've slipped towards.

Beyond that, there are a lot of actual boxing elements in this game. If you're not too knowledgeable about boxing, the game makers have been kind enough to put some tips on the bottom of the loading screens. Tips like suggesting that you try to keep your right foot on the outside of an opponent's left when fighting as a southpaw (left-hander). A bit of boxing knowledge goes a long way. Good distance control and timing are enough to see a lot of opponents off. Working the body can pay off big time, as it will both hurt your opponent and sap their stamina. You'll learn from your wins, and you'll probably learn more from your losses.

As you might expect with an early release title, "Undisputed" has a significant amount of bugs. Phantom punches can knock you out from across the ring — there'll be times your arms get tangled allowing your opponent to rattle your brains repeatedly without reply. Your arm might bend backward and get caught behind your back for no apparent reason. A couple of light punches will totally deplete your stamina bar and leave you open to a knockdown or KO, and the judges will absolutely rob you or your opponent. You might be at a point in a fight where your opponent's face looks like a bulldog attacked by a swarm of bees — but with no damage. 

These will all probably get patched in the coming months but for now, it's either frustrating or hilarious depending on the timing. One particularly funny one involved my opponent seemingly bouncing off the canvas then flying out of the shot, and presumably out of the ring, at lightspeed. He reappeared for the ten count, but it was a bit of an odd moment.

There are a few subtle little things that go into a good boxing game, and one of them is feeling. A good punch needs to seem like it's actually made an impact, it gets the adrenaline flowing and massively aids immersion. "Undisputed," for all of its present faults and quirks, has absolutely nailed it in this department. When you time a power punch or counter perfectly, the vibration on the controller, the reaction of the fighters, and the sound of the impact sells it all well. Also, the little ripples from the point of impact really help sell things. If you landed right, you may even be able to recreate Fury's famous fat ripple from the third Wilder fight.

You can actually feel like you're doing a bit of damage, the little tactile reward is there. The actual gaming reward isn't. Counter-punches seem massively underpowered and power punches, given how hard they are (and should be) to land, don't seem to do as much as two or three quick left hooks. Or at least it has been over the last few days, this game's received balance tweaks about three times in the last week by my count. There is an art to game balance, you obviously don't want every quick counter to go off like a hand grenade, but they are one of the ways the momentum can swing in real boxing and that should be reflected in the game. I'm also sure this is one of the areas where "Undisputed" will eventually get there. Steel City Interactive will probably get plenty of feedback from its wider user base and eventually settle on something that's somewhat realistic without unbalancing the game.

Graphically, it's pretty decent for a boxing game. It's not totally photorealistic, but the fighters and environments all look good. Things like sweat sprays look realistic when you clock someone right. Damage is clearly visible on people's faces, and is more than just a comical black eye that shows up after a direct hit or two. The face will actually swell, and the area will get redder and redder. Cuts show up accurately too and are closed between rounds. It takes a shot or two to get them flowing again. Older fighters have been suitably "vintaged." Their gloves are that reddish-brown you'd expect and there's a very mild sepia note about their whole appearance.

We could use a few more arenas though. In online play at least, the venue seems to be random. There are a couple of gyms, a couple of small venues, one large arena, and one outdoor venue that seems to be based on Eddie Hearn's back garden and unfortunately looks like a level from a PS2 game in some lights. Hearn, of course, hosted a card or two there when the COVID-19 pandemic made live events at traditional venues impossible. While the closer crowd members could use a bit of a touchup, the crowd that's a bit further away in the smaller venues is in semi-darkness and covered by a hazy fog — which actually adds a bit of atmosphere. None of the gyms or arenas are named after actual places, and a bit more variety would be nice — even if the venues are still fictional. As with everything else, this is probably somewhere on the to-do list.