- Developer: Jollypunch Games
- Publisher: Jollypunch Games
- Release Date: 28/05/2020
- Price: £13.49 / $14.99
- Review code provided by Jollypunch Games
Introducing: Fly Punch Boom Switch Review
Fly Punch Boom! is a party fighting game made almost entirely by Jollypunch along with some musicians and help with the finer things. In this world you play as creatures known as Punchies who are immortal beings that love fighting. In fact, great cosmic clashes are how new ones are created as it’s the only way they can reproduce.
Catastrophic Clashes
Fights take place in large arenas that are traversed by flight. The opponent’s health can be whittled down by attacks, but you can also push building pieces, whales and other objects directly into them. If you boost directly into an unprepared rival, you can mash punches into them to send them across the screen. If they are also attacking, you can choose to either punch, counter or grab. Functioning in the manner of rock-paper-scissors where one beats the other. When doing so, there’s a clash bar that slides across as you need to hit the button within it to attack (if you hit close to the end, you’ll get a mega-hit which beats weaker attacks).
If you both land the same attack you’ll mash the punch button to see who’s the victor of the encounter. With weaker hits you have a chance to break from the attack if you press the shown buttons before the opponent presses theirs. When you’re thrown from a punch-up you have a very brief period to press a randomly-shown recovery button, otherwise they’re likely to boost in for more attacks. If one is thrown into a dangerous object or on the border, you’ll need to stop the death bar slider in the yellow in order to not die instantly. The lower health you have the smaller this recovery window is. If you’re very low on health a successful attack can decapitate you ending the round. All games are best of three.
Every character has the same three meters for teleportation, special attacks and their unique ability. Stages not only have launchable fireballs and skyscrapers but special energy will appear. Collecting two of these will allow you to launch your special attack that is different for every character. Each Punchie has another meter that will build up over time and unleash their unique ability without prompting. For example, Groovis will randomly avoid an attack, while Wiggle will leave bombs around the map for a while. Teleportation works on a cooldown and can be used to tag in a teammate in the two vs. two mode.
Lore and Gore
Playing the tutorial is certainly needed to come to grasps with this gameplay system. For single player there is the usual arcade mode, though there’s no story on display here. There are various unlockables including two characters to make a total of ten, and an built-in achievement system for things such as decapitating opponents ten times. Playing both on and offline will give you exp. to level up with various level names like Devil Fruit. Each character has an alternate outfit which seems to unlock after playing as them for a certain time/amount of matches.
Local play allows for one vs. one and two vs. two for a total of four players on the one system. The four-player mode is a bit odd as it’s a tag team fight where you’ll often be swapping in and out with little control (asides from using the teleport), furthermore while you might get hit out, your partner may need to save you from the death bar (even if they’re already knocked out). While it seems to be a way to make sure all players are engaged at once, I found it to be more confusing and ended up with losses just because my teammate wasn’t paying attention. Online is one vs. one only, but you can go into quickplay or find lobbies. While matchmaking, you can continue to play offline or play a mini-game.
A Visual Buffet of Brutality
The world of Fly Punch Boom! is embodied by a unique cartoon style made by the game’s creator. It’s animated in a way that can make for some very funny screenshots, but it also shows off the dynamic, high-energy nature of fights. There are multiple different death animations per stage based on where you failed, such as getting sneezed out of a sphinx or being punched so hard you orbit a planet. The character designs are interesting, ranging from a pompadoured bird or afro skeleton to a snake-like creature with a hand-shaped head.
The music is mostly rock with an electrical guitar focus that really works with the game’s style.
A Solid Hit
I had absolutely no performance or technical issues with the game in either handheld or docked mode. Despite being in a pretty low ranked country for internet quality (and on Wi-Fi) I was able to fight for a long time against my opponent in England. The only issues resulted after over half an hour of play and that was just a few seconds worth of reestablishing connection at the start of a match. If I had such a good experience ,I’m sure most people won’t have many troubles playing this online.
Conclusion
Playing against the computer felt the most unfulfilling as unlike a person, they don’t need to react to what random button is showing for a save. When competing against friends, I had a great time and eventually we were able to chat about other things while playing it. While my Mario Party skills make me the best button masher, all these clashes do get tiring. The stages all have a good amount of different obstacles and deaths, so a few more stages would’ve been nice. Once they get a hang of the combat, I think this is a great game to play while relaxing with friends. As I said, I don’t think the four-player mode is good for more than the most concentrated of people.
Pros
- Unique cartoon style shows the wacky action
- Simple system makes it a great hangout game
- Online works well
Cons
- Two vs. two mode is more likely to annoy than engage other players
- Could have a few more stages
- Mashing the Y button gets tiring
Verdict
Fly Punch Boom! really stays true to the name of the game. The wacky cartoon characters and stages make it a great game to punch on with your buddies.
3.5/5