Rumble Club Review: "There's Such A Thing As Too Simple"

is a new cartoon brawler from Lightfox Games, tossing players into hazard-filled arenas to partake in everything from classic deathmatches to cupcake-chomping competitions. Published by Mad Mushroom, a label owned by content creator group OTK, the game is focused on the kind of wide appeal and simple fun that could make the experience appealing to streamers and their audiences. There's such a thing as too simple, however, and is definitely toeing that line.

A glance at reveals some unavoidable points of comparison, with in particular providing an obvious inspiration for the game's aesthetic and flavor. A greater focus on ostensibly physics-based fighting invokes and, and although and both came up in Screen Rant's interview about the game, battle modes feel like the more tangible Nintendo influence. Defining a title by its similarities to others isn't necessarily ideal, but feels especially aware of the party game market and how to arrange a grab bag version of it.

Rumble Club is a casual brawler that has a little too much going on without a clear definition to anchor it.

If managed to pull together the best aspects of these games, it would be easy to ignore the lack of a unique identity, but the play experience frequently feels half-baked in a way that quickly loses its luster. On a macro level, the mayhem-focused approach does usually end up being fast-paced, but the player's actual interactions with the game mostly feel sluggish. Rounds start with a slow descent from 's equivalent of the Battle Bus, and this largely unnecessary sequence sets the pace for a lot of the mechanics.

Regardless of which game mode isbeing played, there's usually going to be a lot of punching and lifting, neither of which offer any quick gratification. Although instant punches can be useful to throw around ledges, knocking players out when a fall death isn't in sight requires long wind-ups. Picking up an item or a downed player is simply achieved by standing nearby for a few moments as