BRAWL

The most immediate issue with this game is the boss fight difficulty in the story mode. The lack of online multiplayer is disappointing, but maybe future sequels will step beyond the confines of the couch.

Brawl’s two aces are its price and, in this case, its platform. The game is a cheap buy on a system that makes local multiplayer easier and more practical than anything else on the market. Even on the dinky little Joy-Cons, it’s very accessible and easy to pick up on. Yes, lackluster singleplayer and the lack of online harm the game, but not as much as they would have in more typical circumstances. The multiplayer is genuinely fun, with a surprising longevity thanks to its more unique modes. If you’re looking for a solid party game and don’t mind dropping ten bucks and a bucket of blood, the Emporium is a good place to be.

In the end Brawl isn’t necessarily a bad game, it’s just a hodge podge of ideas that individually may work but somehow when they’re mashed together it doesn’t seem to congeal. There’s obviously been effort to inject some personality into things but at the same time, what makes each character distinct ends up detracting a bit from the ease of handing someone a controller and having some fun. With the voice work, it’s also obvious that the single-player story mode had some investment but the glorified tutorials with somewhat bland play and wonky AI failed to leave a very positive impression. Just from top to bottom the overall effort plays out as pretty average, though its stuttering periodic performance issues make it more difficult to redeem.

When it comes to Bomberman clones, Brawl is an okay take on the classic formula. If you're desperate for a new local multiplayer game on your Switch and can stomach the unappealing horror-themed world then it's probably worth checking out.

If you’re interested in a horror-inspired Bomberman clone with shaky movement, non-distinct stages and a toned down freneticism BRAWL might just pique your interest. For the rest of you looking for a party/combat game there are other, more solid feeling, options out there including but not limited to Switch's own Super Bomberman R.