Everybody loves a Kaiju/titan, it is the law. King Kong, Godzilla, Rodan, Mechagodzilla, Mothra, Barney the Dinosaur, and Maguma: All of them have a place in someone’s heart as loveable and destructive beasts. So last year, when I saw Passion Republic Games’ cartoony titan-based action party game GigaBash during one of the many E3 shows, I was sold immediately. Alongside the couch co-op element, which has up to four players or two teams of two, there is a story-focused element to the world of destruction with a total of four separate titans laying waste to the Asian/Russian regions.

Aimed to be easy to pick up, I think it isn’t surprising to find that GigaBash is a button-mashing game of bishing and bashing with light and heavy strikes, as well as special attacks and grapples. An all-out war between beasts the size of buildings, a colossal fight for the ages, or at least that was the idea. With sights aimed to pull buildings from their foundations and throw them at the nostalgia crowd, GigaBash is more arcadey than it is about hearing steal being ripped to shreds over another titan’s skull. No, it is all PS2 War of the Monsters around these parts.

Not a bad thing, of course, but for devotees of massive beasts that feel impressive, they’ll be let down somewhat. With monsters that control only slightly better than World War 1 tanks, GigaBash focuses on the fast and frantic nature of couch co-op combat to sustain its otherwise passable gameplay and mechanics. You have dashes you can turn into a hit, you have your light, heavy, and special attacks, your grapple, and several objects including whole buildings that would get you disqualified from any sanctioned fights. I’m reiterating this point because you can button-mash your way to victory or attempt to be meticulous, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.

Well, I say it doesn’t matter, but the truth is with the higher difficulty AI (i.e beyond casual), you will want to at least try and plan your next move. This is always the trouble with a couch co-op-focused title, the AI isn’t a focus. This is fine for people like Samuel or David who enjoy a 1-on-1 fighter or the other variations of brawlers like 3D arena fighters. Nonetheless, for someone dropping in once every decade, the best experience comes from sitting with actual people and possibly copious amounts of alcohol. Which is not to say GigaBash isn’t without depth.

A reasonable-sized roster to fill more than one couch of inebriated party-goers, GigaBash offers the fluffy, the mono-eyed ugly, and the downright impending copyright lawsuit of Ultraman. With simple controls to keep the intoxicated among you in the loop and at the same time offer enough depth in the heat of shouting at each other, this is arguably GigaBash‘s greatest strength. Topped with a wonderful little meter that fills when you obtain light-purple orbs or when you hit someone. When the meter is filled and the button combination of L1 and R1 is pressed, your Kaiju doubles in size for a short while.

At the end of the day that depth only goes to the bottom of the party cup that has been spilled and now ruining a perfectly fine carpet. Yes, preloaded with online play and the aforementioned couch co-op, the party game only continues until someone defecates in the pool or whatever it is that stops your parties. Oddly in a strange twist of events, however, the mayhem mode which is home to the up to 4-player mini-game mode is not present in online play. Actually an enjoyable series of mini-games, including one that is akin to Windjammers and another that is basically grenade tennis, it is a shame that is missing where it may count for some.

Personally, I was more excited about the single-player story, and sadly I was disappointed. Totaling four kaiju (out of the ten) in all, the story is rather predictable, the characters are flat, and the lack of voice acting is deafeningly apparent. One issue I did find, and I think no one else is going to talk about, is the skip line and skip scene prompt: Which you have to press once to bring it up then press or hold X depending on what you want. Fine in concept, but if you die once or twice, you’re forced to go through a cutscene before jumping back into gameplay. It’s a mistake I was sure after Hotline Miami we have figured out.

Ultimately, enjoyment in GigaBash comes down to the type of person you are: If you’re sociable and hang out with people, you’ll have fun, and if you’re a curmudgeon like me who likes single-player, you’re out of luck. An interesting and fun little monster that does pack a punch, GigaBash offers something worth playing, at least when you’re around people. Let down by AI that is best described as only serviceable and a story that isn’t interesting, I don’t see myself returning at 3 AM on my own.

A PS4 review copy of GigaBash was provided by Passion Republic Games for this review.

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GigaBash

$34.99

6

Score

6.0/10

Pros

• Couch Co-Op Fighting
• Wonderful Art Style
• Some Fun Mini-Games

Cons

• Superficial Single-Player
• Resetting After Death During Single-Player is Annoying
• "Only" Passable Gameplay