According to Sheffield-based developers Steel City Interactive, Undisputed is the first major boxing video game released in over a decade. At first thought, this felt like a dubious claim, but a quick Google search later and it turns out they are right. My, how time flies since the days of Ready to Rumble and Knock Out Kings. Their stated aim was to create the most visceral and interactive boxing experience to date, and in all fairness, I think they have managed to achieve it.

Boxing itself, the earliest visual evidence dates back to the third millennium BC, where apparently a relief sculpture from Egyptian Thebes shows both boxers and spectators. Yes, I got that from Wikipedia, but I don’t doubt that it is true. The idea of humans fighting one another for the entertainment of spectators thousands of years ago does not surprise me one bit. But, what did surprise me is how much I actually like this game.

Undisputed features a wealth of content including the biggest licensed boxing roster in history. This includes over 70 fighters including current stars and legends. Yes, this includes Muhammed Ali, alongside more recent stars such as Tyson Fury, Roy Jones JR., Katie Taylor, and Claressa Shields.

It also includes 20 or so different arenas, everything from dirty old gyms to fancy rich people’s dinner haunts, all the way up to large prime-time TV (or Pay-Per-View) environments, complete with laser lights, fancy entrances and the whole chimichanga of presentation. So, we have the characters and we have the environments.

Undisputed is actually a very engaging game. Much like all the other boxing games developed over ten years ago the different punches are mapped to different buttons; there is a block button and so on. You want to keep an eye on your stamina and several metres that pop up on the overlay. But at the same time, you can visually tell when you are getting the best of your opponent.

To be honest, sometimes I felt a little bad about it. I fought a competitor who seemed to guard his head most of the time, so I just punched him in the stomach a bunch. I saw his torso rippling with each left and right to the midsection. Then, when he tried to guard his stomach I just punched him right in the face, hard. In between rounds, you get some snippets from the corner and I could see my competitor was pretty messed up.

There are quick match options where you can just choose one of the many licensed boxers on the roster if you have a favourite. You can also play a career as either a custom boxer or a legend. I chose to create my own and see how I went. One thing I noticed was the age recommendations, as Undisputed recommends you start your career at the age of 18. I noticed that it also says that it will force you to retire at 40.

I don’t know about you, but I was thinking to myself, this is a video game, not real life if I wanted to create a 55-year-old boxer that should be my business and I am not sure why this is such an issue here. I actually cannot think of another game I have ever played that has had such disclaimers. I think the developers should also spare a thought for the fact that many gamers and fans of boxing are well over the age of 18 and probably don’t want to be encouraged to play as a teenager.

All of that aside though I enjoyed playing through my career as an Amateur Boxer. Selecting my management team and booking fights, sorting out my training schedule so I would be within weight limits but also trained and ready. Negotiating the terms of a fight is a nifty inclusion, this can include a share of the purse, rematch obligations, media obligations as well as the number of weeks for training.

It was pretty cool going from facing seemingly randoms at local gyms and dives before taking to a stage that was being broadcast with proper entrances and commentators. I thought that a lack of commentators and production in the smaller stages compared to the larger ones was a great contrast. I felt like we had done it tough and then made it… even if some of the commentator’s speech was repeated several times throughout the same match.

Fighting the AI is one thing, but fighting a human is quite another. I roped my partner in for a match. It’s funny how things go from a strategic approach straight to button-mashing when the going gets tough. For fans of the sport, I think that couch multiplayer (or online multiplayer) will be a winner. Even for people who are not fans of boxing, it’s still a fun time. Even though I don’t think ‘party game’ is what the devs were going for here.

Overall though, Undisputed is a well-made and enjoyable game. The presentation and characters look great, and the way the bodies react to being hit adds some realism. I did note that in career mode the training aspects are simulated so I could not find my way into the gym to practise on a punching bag or jump rope myself, but maybe there could be some updates on the way to flesh that out, considering the game has had such a lengthy Early Access journey as it is.