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An absurdly fun and fast turn-based brawler

2K View2023-04-06

It's hard to describe Ubisoft's new mobile game, Bump! Superbrawl, so I'll start with just one word: FUN. This strange little game mixes together turn-based strategy, sports, arcade, and even MOBA gameplay to form something totally unique that I'm enjoying quite a bit so far.

In this player-versus-player game, you start by putting together a team of six players—three starters and three substitutes who will jump in if any of your startes get knocked out. Games are played in a small, square arena, with both teams lined up on opposite sides. You can only move one character per turn, but this isn't like other, slow-paced turn-based strategy games; You only have thirty seconds to set up your move, and your opponent is setting their move up at the same time. When you both click that "ready" button, the moves play out at the same time.

The result of this unique game design is a raucous competition where both players are constantly trying to think one, two, or three steps ahead, catching their opponent out on a bad play or lining up combos for massive damage. In the main game mode, the first player to knock out three of their opponents characters wins, but there are other interesting twists on the formula, such as an area control mode and a mode where you try to collect more coins than your opponent in a limited number of turns.

What really makes every game feel different, though, is Bump! Superbrawl's extensive cast of unique characters. As of right now the game has seventeen heroes available to be earned or unlocked, with more almost certain to be added. Each character has their own stats, strengths and weaknesses, and special abilities. For example, Lil' Reaper will take a cheap shot at any enemy whose health drops below 25%, often closing the gap when you don't quite knock someone out. Or there's Minitaur, a bovine hero who will rush toward the nearest enemy when he's called in as a substitute, theoretically making up some momentum even after you've lost a hero.

After a couple days with Bump! Superbrawl, I think it has the potential to be a surprise hit. My only major concern is that it has the usual free-to-play hooks—in particular, a seasonal battle pass and a super-grindy set up of upgrades to purchase for each individual hero. Even setting aside the need to randomly earn half of the heroes from loot box rewards, it feels like players will need to grind for ages to max out one hero, much less a full squad, much less the whole roster. Given that Ubisoft will probably keep growing the hero pool, I could see it getting overwhelming fast, even if some of the upgrades are pretty fun.

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