Tag brawler

Fans of Gangbeasts rejoice! Party Animals is a brawler that takes what works in GB and adds even more ways to play!

Recreate Games are the masterminds behind yet another version of gang beasts with Party Animals. Gang Beasts, for those of you that are unaware, is a game where players control semi-ragdoll characters and pummel the crap out of each other. The goal of most games is to simply remove the other players from the playing field. The matches are chaotic and I have cramped from laughing in more games than I have watching the late George Carlin. Recreate have taken almost identical mechanics, added play modes AND actual weapons.

There is something satisfying about smashing a partially chewed lollypop across the face of your foes. The other weapons are enjoyable to use like the shovel or the taser but the lollypop just feels best. There isn’t a story overall, you simply play an adorable animal with ragdoll physics in various game modes. Modes include fueling a train, keeping warm by the fire or fighting on the roof of a stealth fighter jet. That’s just to start! Visually the game is absolutely stunning with one of the cleanest physics engines I’ve ever seen! The controls are more advanced with additional abilities like a single button for climbing where in Gang Beasts it required both triggers working together (for Xbox).

For my son, the game puts too much emphasis on the minigames but does the brawling perfectly. Personally I loved the minigames AND the brawling. Party Animals is the new GOLD STANDARD.

Jitsu Squad is a fighting game styled after the classic brawlers from the 80’s and 90’s like Streets of Rage or Golden Axe!

The villain Origami has assembled his forces and it’s up to the Jitsu Squad to put a stop to it. The gameplay looks and feels like the classic brawlers I grew up with as well as more recent titles my kids played when they were younger. When I say “brawler” what I specifically mean is games like Streets of Rage, Golden Axe or Castle Crashers. If you’ve played any of those then you know exactly what to expect from the base mechanics. Most brawlers however don’t include special attacks that you have to charge up before use like this one does. Each character has a special attack they can do and they are devastating.

Visually the game is gorgeous. Each character is hand drawn and colored. That attention to detail really makes the game stand out. Control mechanics are intuitive but also nothing new or exciting there. It’s a simple formula that has been mastered by many games over the years and ININ Games have executed perfectly. Even better is the music which is composed by gaming veteran Johnny Gioeli who some may know as the composer of the music from SONIC! Gameplay is fast paced and a ton of fun. At $69.99 for the collector’s edition and $29.99 for standard editions the pricing is quite reasonable as well (if you play on Switch or Playstation)! Xbox players won’t be able to purchase from Games Rocket but can still enjoy the standard edition through the Xbox Marketplace. Overall this game is chocked full of WIN and I can’t wait to get the squad together and take Origami down!

Have you ever argued about what your favorite dessert is? With Cake Bash from Coat Sink you can let the desserts fight it out themselves!

Smash Bro’s was one of the first titles that gave players a comical brawler where you can beat the snot out of your family members and not feel bad about it. Gang Beasts took it a step further and added some ragdoll physics. Cake Bash is now here to turn the cute level to a twelve while beating up on your family and friends.

Players choose their confectionary of choice and then the games begin. Each round players will have a chance to vote for which map they will play on. The main game has a specific rotation of bash levels, purchasing decorations followed by a challenge level. This repeats about three times ending with a final purchase section to grab as many decorations to lock in enough points to be the final dessert standing. After you have played a location or level once you can then do so in freeplay to unlock related achievements.

Some modes require precision and numerous attempts just to get them right. The caterpillar level is still not completed for me and I’ve spent about two hours on it so far. The game allows for a lot of replayability. In small doses the game is quite fun but repeating the same level will make you want to walk away from the game for a while. At $20 for the game it is a reasonable price but if you see it on sale this will become a must grab.