Developer: Tuatara Games
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), Switch
Genre: Action, Casual
Publisher: Tuatara Games
Bare Butt Boxing is a chaotic multiplayer brawler. It was developed and published by Tuatara Games. Bare Butt Boxing plays similarly to other well-known brawler games like Gang Beasts and Party Animals. This review was done for the PC, but the game is also available for the Switch. Bare Butt Boxing is currently still in early access. Version 1.0 of Bare Butt Boxing is out on August 1st.
Bare Butt Boxing can be played both in single-player and multiplayer. The game consists of up to 4 players locally or 6 players online. When playing as a single player, you can play a quick match that can match you with other players online or match up with bots. We were playing this game through the duration of beta and pre-release, which meant not many players were active, so only online play with other friends worked best. At first, I thought a single-player with bots would be a bit dull, but it’s a great way to play the game and learn the ropes on the mechanics. The bots are quite well-balanced, which was something I enjoyed. As for multiplayer, you can play either online or locally. Getting into a match with others is no issue, and there did not seem to be any connection errors. It seemed both local and online play worked perfectly. As of right now, it seems that Bare Butt Boxing is currently not cross-platform, but it may become cross-platform, which will give many multiplayer opportunities. Multiplayer in this game is quite the blast. The game is compatible with a controller/keyboard and mouse, and both of them work smoothly. Personally, for this type of game, I found the controller to be the best option, but the keyboard and mouse were simple and easy to pick up on as well. In addition, when starting the game, you can see the gameplay mechanics and keybinds.
The concept of the game is very straightforward. Bare Butt Boxing is a goofy physics-based brawler where it’s all about boxing and bare butts. You get to pick from a selection of aliens that you can customise. Customization is one of my favourite things in the game, where you can earn money from playing many rounds that can be used to buy items like gloves, skins, titles and aliens. The game currently has six unique aliens to pick from. Each item is priced differently, so you can buy from a selection of things. There are not many customizable items at the moment, but the start is perfect. The game also consists of a decent selection of arenas that you can pick from or randomise. When starting a game, there are multiple options you can pick from; for instance, in a private online match, you can have randomised game modes, a bot count, duration, select a map (currently, there are eight distinct maps), and select the items wanted. This is great for allowing players to test out various game modes and make the lobbies longer or shorter, depending on their liking.
The art style of Bare Butt Boxing is very cartoonish but amusing to look at. I love the unique character designs and the silly bare butts that add the entire charm of the game. Without the bare butts, the game would just be boxing. Each arena and item is bright, colourful and has a shine to it. The game has a similar style to Fall Guys, where everything is bubbly. This game specifically follows the theme around outer space and aliens, which is charming. The animations and visuals of the game are bright, fun and colourful. After all, it is a party game, so it sets up an enthusiastic vibe. The visuals go really well with the soundtrack and sound effects of the game. The soundtrack has this synth upbeat, almost futuristic melody that gives a party space theme. My favourite part of the main menu music is the catchy ‘Bare Butt Boxing’ voice line that gets the player into the boxing groove. The music is so groovy, and the boxing and beam sound in the game matches really well with the theme. It makes everything a lot more immersive. I really appreciate the design of the game, as it creates a fun atmosphere to play.
My overall impression of Bare Butt Boxing was really good. Testing it while in beta, we did not seem to run into many bugs, but the overall gameplay was enjoyable. I liked the simple concept of boxing others to be at the top of the leaderboard. While playing this version of the game, there were two main: minigames soccer and just brawling. The soccer one had you punching a box into a goal, and the other brawl was punching people into the goal. Cycling through the minigames in the different arenas was really nice, but after about an hour and 30 minutes of gameplay, the game got a bit tiring. Then again, that’s mainly consistent with party games, making them perfect to play for a little while and play again another time. The addition of the powerups was a really good choice by the developers as it added more rampage in the game. The funniest item was the flower pot, which seemed like it served no purpose but did its job.
Two of the people we played this game with had the following comments to say about Bare Butt Boxing. First, Vroggo said the following, “Bare Butt Boxing is the type of fun party game to play every once in a while with friends or other players due to the simple nature of the game. The controls of the game are very straightforward, where the player will mostly mindlessly spam clicks throughout the game to score points for themselves. The changes in maps, game modes, obtainable power-ups, and most, especially “frenzy” mode are also all factors that add just the right spice to the game to make it engaging to play. All in all, the game is enjoyable as is. Although I would love to see some type of attack combo for players to initiate so that it forces them to focus on attacking a certain way instead of just spamming clicks, which may make the game even more engaging. I will look forward to what the game has in store for us players in the future.”
Second, Genno said the following, “Bare Butt Boxing is a game that looks amazing with its style of art and the design of each character that you can choose from. My friends and I had a blast playing this game, and we enjoyed the minigames it had to offer. What I didn’t like was that there were not many minigames to play, which made the gameplay quite short in the sense of repetitiveness. However, I believe that with further updates and the early access journey, this can definitely be worked on. The overall idea is fun, and I wish to see more content and maybe crazier ideas, like a run-like mode, hot potato, or other unique minigames. It would be fun to have an interactive lobby.”
Bare Butt Boxing is a fun party game where you get to box opponents with your bare butt. The game is charming and filled with minigames that you can enjoy with friends or by yourself. It allows you to play online/locally and allows you to play with anyone you like and be ready to customise your aliens to make them stand out even more. Bare Butt Boxing has bubbly visuals that can create a chaotic environment. If you are looking for a fun party brawler, then be sure to check out Bare Butt Boxing!
Overall: 8/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
