After the successful release of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time way back in October 2020, there was a lot of curiosity as to what developer Toys for Bob would do next. With the full support of both Activision and fans around the world, they decided to shift their focus towards creating an entirely different experience with a new game titled Crash Team Rumble.
During Summer Game Fest Play Days earlier this month, I had an opportunity to play a few matches from the game and had a ton of fun. Having now played the final version of the game for review, here are a few of my thoughts on what you can expect if you decide to pick up this latest addition to the popular franchise.
Squad up
Crash Team Rumble could be best described as a 4v4 team-based online multiplayer strategic cross-platform game. Featuring a cast of popular Crash characters, the main objective is for one team to capture more Wumpa Fruit than the other in order to win. Every team member has unique skills and abilities to destroy boxes and deal damage to their opponents if they get in the way.
Teams have dedicated drop-off zones where Wumpa Fruit has to be deposited. These areas can be defended from the opposing team who can easily disrupt individual players as they attempt to successfully complete their deposits. Each team consists of the following three roles and tasks:
- Scorer – Collect and score Wumba and secure available Gems
- Blocker- Block enemies from scoring and use a vacuum to gather Wumpa
- Booster- Capture Gems to boost your team’s scoring and activate relic stations with double relic collection
Graphically, Crash Team Rumble looks exactly like you would expect a Crash game to look with its signature art style and animations. Every map is filled with platforms that require jumping and making use of your skills to plan attacks. This is essentially where the strategic aspects come into play as you definitely will have to communicate with team members and think carefully before deciding how to go about winning matchups. Once you win or lose a game, you’ll steadily start to level up your character and unlock new items, alternative versions of your character, and additional special characters to join the fray.
Outside of a practice match mode, the only other main mode in the game is the competitive multiplayer mode. For a game that retails at $29.99 for the regular edition and $39.99 for the deluxe edition, this may seem like a very bare-bones offering. As of this writing, I have no idea if there will be other multiplayer modes added to this game at a later date. It’s also worth mentioning that there is a Battle Pass attached to this game as well and you’ll be able to unlock more cosmetic items just by continuously choosing to play the game.
Final Verdict
Crash Team Rumble is a very straightforward, yet insanely fun 4v4 online multiplayer experience. While there certainly are legit questions about if this title will have legs, what is currently present in this package is surprisingly fun and easy for anyone to play if they are interested.
This review was written based on a digital review copy of Crash Team Rumble for the Xbox Series X provided by Activision.
