Welcome back to The Backlog, where we review video games based on a certain genre or word each month. As this is the last edition of January, we are ending our “fight” theme with one that could be considered an oldie but goodie, “Gang Beasts.”
“Gang Beasts” was developed and published by Boneloaf in 2014, an English indie game studio. It can be bought and played on the Nintendo Switch, PS4 (and therefore PS5), Xbox One and PCs. The game is cross-platform but the Steam version does not support this feature. If you haven’t noticed with the games this month, most of these fighting games include silly elements to make the playstyle unique to them. “Gang Beasts” is no exception.
Similar to “Stick Fight: The Game,” the aesthetics of “Gang Beasts” centers around fluorescent, bright colors to help distinguish players and objects from each other. Each player can customize their character and must use the goofy controls. These characters can use every single aspect of their body to hurt other players, and it goes beyond just punching and kicking. Players can also headbutt, grab, lift, crawl and lay down to knock out opponents or avoid obstacles. The best way to describe the characters is “punchable meatbags.”
The object of the game is to be the last one left standing. I can’t necessarily say that the goal is to defeat your opponents because there are countless times when players just stand still and somehow win. It’s incredibly easy to accidentally eliminate yourself. Each stage has its own dangers. The trawler is a fishing boat with a serious shark problem. These sharks will stop at nothing to eat you. Seriously, they jump very high and can use stairs — which is weird because they don’t have legs.
My favorite stage is the trucks, because as you fight on top of the containers you must be mindful of the oncoming signs that appear very quickly. Not to mention that sometimes you can climb inside of the containers and wait for the others to duke it out. Personally, I’d say that the subway is the funniest stage. It leaves the most room for comedic value. Brawls in subways are a very real occurrence, so it makes the game seem less fictional and closer to reality. Not to mention the fact that — while dark — it’s hilarious watching another player struggle to get off of the train tracks and get swept away by the oncoming train. Another stage worth mentioning is the ring, which is literally a wrestling ring. In this stage, you can easily get eliminated by being thrown out of the ring, but it leaves a lot of room for you to showcase your WWE skills and slug it out.
Despite the simple gameplay, there are issues with the online features and overall quality of “Gang Beasts.” While it is not as popular now as it was a few years ago, even during its heyday the online matches experienced slow loading screens and constant glitches. Usually, there aren’t any issues through local play, but the camera does have trouble keeping everyone within frame. Sometimes it only follows a specific player or a specific fight and doesn’t leave enough attention to other players. This is only a problem if you don’t like to see your character far away, as the camera may zoom out significantly.
Another issue that arises is how limited the stages feel. Sometimes they don’t have much variety, and it becomes easy to kill opponents because you gain a good understanding of how each stage works. For some stages the panels on the ground fall out, leaving a gaping hole for players to fall into. This sometimes can take the fun out of playing since the stage does your job for you. Yet with these concerns, “Gang Beasts” deserves a spot amongst our games based around fighting.
Rating: 3.5/5