As a fan of party games in this household, I noted the lack of a certain ‘Gang Beasts‘ that I’ve often referred to in other reviews, but never actually pumped anything out. Eww.
If you haven’t heard about Gang Beasts by now, then you either don’t have any friends or you don’t have the internet. Not that the game is a phenomenon, but it’s one of those titles that puts out a divide. The infamous Marmite test.
Gang Beasts, released by Double Fine (Full Throttle) is a multiplayer beat ’em up that relies on physics. Well, doesn’t every fighting game, but in this case, the main characters handle like rag dolls and are as responsive as a sloth in hyper-stasis, on opium.
Gang Beasts Review
Let’s address the elephant in the room now, should said pachyderm be the controls: Gang Beasts will test your patience. You’ll get frustrated but laugh it off with friends, trying to disguise that little tick in your left eye, or you’ll launch the coffee table, paint the walls with faecal matter and stamp on a turtle. I don’t know why I added that last one. I like turtles. Ish.
The controls are…simple. Tease the left analogue stick, and you’ll move your character around, then wiggle, bash, and smother the rest of the controls and hope for the best. On paper, you can punch with either arm, head butt and jump, but the real gem is being able to grab hold of other players or objects to stay in the game.
When it comes to players, you scoop them up as if they were a Gang Beasts-style character sculpted from a waterbed, lift them up, and drop them into the abyss. Like Soul Blade (classic reference), you can win a match with a ring out. It isn’t exclusively about picking up players, as you can land a wobbly haymaker on them and knock them out.
Pick Up Techniques
Of course, your opponent can retaliate by squirming about, repeatedly punching you, or even landing a headbutt. Still, the best defence is err.. a defence, as you can hold on to dear life by grabbing them or a breakaway object such as a fence, taking them with you for the draw.
This is where Gang Beasts shines. Unless you’re playing against a plant, chances are each match you play will be unlike the other. Yes, it does get repetitive, and there aren’t enough modes, a.k.a. variety, but, depending on who you play with, there’s a lot of replayability in the game as it’s so unpredictable.
Some items can be picked up and used as make-do weapons, but using your fists counts as well, as you can essentially knock the other player out and drag them to their doom.
Solo Outings And Long Waits
If you plan on playing Gang Beasts alone, I don’t recommend it. There’s no campaign mode or background history of the fight locations, any over-sized bosses to beat or coins to collect – it’s a series of deathmatch-type games made to play locally with friends or online.
It’s unfortunate that the online play is very hit and miss, for a couple of reasons. First is obvious: the loading times and the lag. This is a common issue with online play, but I found that Gang Beasts took a while to find other players in the lobby. Once it got going, the framerate would drop. I never usually notice this.
The second problem is a decent connection. These battle royales can last for a long time. Often, other players are unable to finish the match. There will be instances where only two players remain, and each time one throws the other out of play, they somehow manage to hold on or come back. This scenario continues until a countdown timer appears.
Gang Beasts Review Summary
Gang Beasts is an acquired taste. You’ll mostly be wrestling with the physics, but not so much as say Human Fall Flat. Besides, you can call in style and extend to a punch in the face, then knock an opponent into the abyss. Worth playing for the trucks level alone. That ‘ding’ when hitting one’s head on the signage is a hoot!
