We got to do a Bare Butt Boxing hands-on preview at PAX West 2022. When it comes to party games what do you think of? Most when asked will say, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Fall Guys, Rock Band, Jackbox Party Pack, and maybe Halo or Call of Duty.
Now the other two are more of a stretch when it comes to modern parties, but back when you could play four-player split-screen, Zombies and Halo 3 were a great time, especially on a projector.
Within the last five years, indie games have looked to fill the gap where AAA titles have left an opening. One upcoming example of both a split-screen and local multiplayer party game is Tuatara Games’ upcoming title Bare Butt Boxing.
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What is Bare Butt Boxing?
So you are probably asking, what is Bare Butt Boxing? The answer to this is best answered by Tuatara Games. Here’s a brief description on the game:
Fight in completely unregulated alien boxing bouts and knock out players online in BARE BUTT BOXING, a chaotic multiplayer brawler with physics-based characters.
Take control of mischievous aliens mesmerized by the sport of boxing as they battle it out all over our beloved planet Earth, unaware of the laws and traditions of human society.
Enjoy the chaos and whimsy of simulated characters and environments in this action arena brawler that will keep you hooked with surprising combat twists and gameplay variety. Board the spaceship, we’re off to the next scrimmage!
Game Experience
At PAX West 2022, we had the opportunity to preview Bare Butt Boxing. While fighting in the arena, the player’s ultimate goal is to knock other boxers into various goals spread throughout the map. Scoring your opponent is easier said than done. The game’s wonky physics and level designs can make it harder to score. Luckily, power-ups, items, and charged punches can change the tide of battle. Scoring an enemy who is currently in the lead, gives a massive boost to points. This makes it so that no lead is safe and anyone can win.
While playing through the demo, there were a few bugs but nothing game-breaking. Some of the objects we would grab would disappear after being thrown rather than colliding with another player. Thankfully, these objects would spawn again after a short while and it wasn’t a consistent issue. The collision system’s unpredictability makes for comical moments but also frustrating times when trying to score your opponents.
Bare Butt Boxing looks to bring a comedic approach to party games that is out of this world. Just look at the characters’ proportions. Their booties are mind-blowing. In fact, before we knew that you had to use your fists to fight, we thought you had to use your butt. If so, we could have easily pointed a finger at the anime Keijo!!!!!!!! for the inspiration. Instead, we got a regular boxing game. Hopefully, as the game develops, new characters will be added and potentially more players will be able to fight at the same time.
More about the developer
If you have not heard of Tuatara Games, we will not blame you. In fact, I did not realize what they had worked on before the meeting. Tuatara Games has previously worked on Valorant, Godfall, The Ascent, Fortnite, and Enemies. The studio typically does VFX work in the industry but wants to work on making games beyond the VFX aspect. They have already released a game called Let Them Come.
At the moment, Bare Butt Boxing is scheduled to be released in 2023. With what we saw at PAX West 2022, it is easy to say that the game will be a comedically fun time, but without the right marketing or audience, it could get lost in the indie game shuffle.
What do you think of Tuatara Games’ upcoming game Bare Butt Boxing? At the moment, the game is only announced for Windows PC (via Steam); the developers have stated that other platforms might be possible in the future.
