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Crash Team Rumble Review

August 7, 2023

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If you are looking for a zany multiplayer brawler Crash Team Rumble offers up plenty of fun. From the creative minds at Toys for Bob, comes a team brawler that has Crash and his pals square off in a no holds barred showdown. This competitive platformer throws conventional fighting game rules out the window. The game is a 4-vs-4 team based brawler where heroes and villains use unique skills and abilities to win. Instead of just focusing on knocking out your opponents, it’s all about racing to gather 2,000 Wumpa Fruit before the opposing team. There is still plenty of slapstick action, but the collecting component offers another layer to the competition and requires some strategy to dominate the field. Let’s dive into all that Crash Team Rumble has to offer and find out if the Bandicoot’s latest adventure is right for you.

Crash Team Rumble Details

Platform(s): PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Developer(s): Toys for Bob
Publisher(s): Activision
Genre: Fighting, platformer
Modes: Multiplayer
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)

Crash Team Rumble’s cast of brawlers

Even before a match begins, the character select menu offers up different approaches depending on the brawler you pick. All of the classic characters from the Crash Bandicoot franchise make an appearance such as Coco, Cortex and Crunch. As you start your rumble career only Crash, Coco and Dingodile are available. You will need to unlock the rest of the characters through playing the game. It can take awhile to unlock these characters, thankfully the experience is fun so the time put in won’t feel onerous.

Other characters like Dr N. Gin and Dr. N. Brio are also along for the ride, with each character offering up their unique strengths and abilities. Each character feels unique to play with even if they are from the same archetype category. Depending on who you choose, and their skillset can make the path to victory that much faster. Let’s explore the different player types and abilities in more detail.

Crash Team Rumble’s different player types

The game boasts eight familiar faces from the Crash Bandicoot universe, divided into three categories: Scorers, Blockers, and Boosters. Scorers – Crash, Catbat and Tawna – excel at scoring points as they can carry more Wumpa Fruits than other players. They also have great melee attacks, and special movement abilities. They are the most well rounded of the bunch and great to start off with.

Big green character getting ready to attack.

A strong defence

Blockers – Dingodile, Dr. N. Brio, and Dr. N. Tropy – are adept at stopping Scorers in their tracks. For example, Dingodile can use his vacuum to suck up opponents and Wumpa fruit, but is slower moving. Blockers have powerful defensive skills and a greater level of territorial control using critical attacks.

Every team needs a boost

Finally, Boosters – Coco and Dr. Neo Cortex – can tip the scale of battle by offering power-ups to teammates. If you play as a booster, your primary job is to grab all the gems on the map. If you achieve this it ups your team’s Wumpa fruit numbers when you bank them. You can also get extra bonuses if you get all the gems in one area or on the whole map.

Map design shines in Crash Team Rumble

Along with a fun cast of characters to play as, Toys for Bob has also created some great environments for the chaos to unfold. So far, the game has 9 maps in total, which Activision has promised will be expanded through future paid content updates. The initial offering might seem small but they offer a lot of diversity in their environments and really felt fresh for as long as I played. There are wide open maps, environments with a lot of verticality each one offering different paths to fight or maximize collecting Wumpa fruit.

Optional battle pass

There is also a paid Battle Pass that is optional, offering cosmetic upgrades to each of the characters. Thankfully, it’s not a “pay to win” model but offers extra character customization if you want to have a little more flair than your opponents. Hopefully there will be more free options available in the future, for now it’s either paid content through the pass or opting for the deluxe edition of the game to have access to more content.

The orange marsupial and company look great in Crash Team Rumble

Crash Team Rumble shines with radiant colours and detailed environments that fit right into the Bandicoot’s universe. Coupled with smooth performance on the Xbox Series X where I reviewed it, the game provides an immersive experience. The audio design perfectly complements the game’s theme, with catchy tunes and unique character sound effects adding to the overall charm. Its fun cartoony aesthetic that is sure to bring a smile on your face, no matter what your age.

Final thoughts on Crash Team Rumble

Overall, Crash Team Rumble is a fun, creative and very unexpected addition to the franchise. It veers away from the single-player platforming experience Crash is known for and offers something new. The brawler offers an interesting twist on traditional fighting games with its 4-vs-4 team based brawls and race to collect Wumpa Fruit. The cast of characters are diverse and offer different playstyles depending on who you choose. Each character can ultimately achieve the same thing, but they each feel very unique. The maps also do a good job at offering plenty of variety for each showdown. Add in slick cartoony visuals and audio, Crash Team Rumble is definitely a brawler worth checking out if you’re looking for some fun multiplayer action.

+Each character brings unique abilities, making the gameplay exciting and diverse
+Map design is excellent
+The game maintains the enchanting world of Crash Bandicoot

-Lack of different game modes
-Some characters are overpowered compared to others
-Seasonal extra cost Battle Pass