It is I, Sonii Sonii! My duty is to review Crash Team Rumble for you! Yes, after our pal Crash Bandicoot returned with his Trilogy and a lovable yet difficult sequel, being summoned thrice has resulted in a very different title, where you get to play as virtually EVERYBODY he knows! Whoa!

It’s time to put your platforming AND fighting skills to crate effect because Crash Team Rumble is a whole new kettle of gummy shark, combining what we know and love about the Crash series with a MOBA of all things. Behold the League of Bandicoots! Dingodile Unite! Monday Night Cortex!… you get the joke.

Crash Team Rumble is all about multiplayer, a 4v4 title that has you trying to reach a score threshold before your opponents can, and there’s a myriad of ways you can go about this. Hang on to your detached eyebrows, cos this ought to be an interesting read!

The few, the proud, the unbalanced

Within your team of 4, you have a few different roles you can play, with each playable character specialising in different areas. For example, Crash functions as a scorer, built for quickly collecting wumpa and being able to fight back if getting picked on, but not being especially powerful. Contrast that to someone like Dr. N. Brio, a blocker whose main purpose is to try and prevent the opposing team from scoring by swatting characters like Crash away from their goal thanks to his strong melee capabilities, which is off-set by his lacking mobility. Either class can then be helped or hindered by booster characters like Coco, who are able to provide buffs like faster movement to their teammates, or create temporary obstacles for enemies.

It’s not the deepest system out there, but it’s a really great fit for the game, as you probably shouldn’t be bringing the kind of energy to this title as one might bring to say, League of Legends; there’s no need to remember a flow-chart of stats and such to maximise the potential of a character, simply practice with one you like and you’ll improve as you go.

From launch there are 8 characters to pick from, and some are actually locked away until you’ve completed some in-game tasks, requiring you to get some of the more straight-forward characters and gameplay principles covered before you can play as them. This approach works quite well, being less about replay value and more ensuring that everyone who plays doesn’t dive into the deep-end when they join the fray; when you see an N. Tropy blocking the way, you know they’ve earned the spot.

Bingo! Mutant DNA!

Now for those worried that Crash Team Rumble strays too far from it’s predecessors, be assured that this is first and foremost a Crash experience. You’ll still be running around crushing crates and leaping through lush environments, camera diligently following behind, all to some twinsane tunes. The catch is now you’re having to contend with other players doing the same thing and trying to do it better, which is of course your cue to show them who’s boss.

You’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so too, with each arena having not just a distinctive look and layout but also unique powerups to help turn the tide in your team’s favour. Master the characters, master the levels, master the game… it’s enough to make your entire torso spin!

The good and bad kind of drip

While the glory of victory can be a motivator in and of itself, what’s really designed to bring you back for more is the cosmetics and other such unlockables, tied to both specific character progression and season passes. Playing well and completing certain tasks accumulates XP, which can then reward you with emotes, skins, and other little prizes to help customise your squad. This can certainly help bring you into that “just one more game” zone, but there is a fairly glaring issue with the title right now that will hopefully be resolved sooner rather than later.

Loot crate or Lays bag?

That’s the tricky thing with live-service titles isn’t it, that no matter how good the idea seems, we can never be sure how much water they’ll hold. It may seem unfair to judge Crash’s latest outing in this manner, but such titles have earned players’ ire for a reason.

Crash Team Rumble is far from a bad game, having been built on the bones of a solid platformer and introducing a new gameplay genre that’s certainly a surprise but still works surprisingly well within the franchise’s universe and mechanics. What it needs now is to actually be worth the price of admission, lowered though it may be, so that it can both take full advantage of the world it’s utilising and prove that it’s here to stay for the foreseeable future. For now, try to keep your crate expectations in check, but if we’re all pleasantly surprised, then I’ll happily see you in the League of Bandicoots!