Battletoads

In a year when brawlers like this and Streets of Rage 4 are making a comeback, Battletoads tries a lot of different things. While it does many of them well, some fall short of the mark or just feel shoehorned in, to the point where it confused me. That shouldn’t put you off though as the game is still charming, stylish and a bundle of fun to play. It’s a great example of what an Xbox Game Pass game should be and a very strong first major outing from Dlala.

It’s hard to play Battletoads and not be mightily impressed with what it achieves. It mixes so many genres and does it so, so well. Then there’s the humour, which is a hard thing to get right, especially in the world of video games. Dlala Studios and Rare have a done a grand job of bringing the Battletoads into the 21st century, and I really hope we get to see more of them. There’s been a lot of great games released this year, but Battletoads will surely prove to be one of the most memorable.

Battletoads revives what was thought to be a long-dead franchise without missing a step. The game benefits from modernized game mechanics but maintains the overall gameplay feel of the original titles. If you have fond memories of the earlier titles, it's a no brainer that this is a title worth playing. The game does rely on nostalgia, but this is one of the better reboots around. Battletoads succeeds at making a game look and feel modern while maintaining the essence of what made it good so many years ago. Battletoads does offer a variety of different modes in addition to primarily being a be...

Battletoads is without a doubt one of the funniest games of this generation, and it's a pretty nifty beat 'em up to boot. It does have the occasional lull when things start to feel a little repetitive, but by and large it's a hugely entertaining experience and well worth your time.

Battletoads' grand return largely sticks the landing. While some shortcomings make it a recommendation with caveats, it's still a fun, engaging, and clever game that fans of the genre should look into.

Ultimately, Battletoads is a good time. It somehow emerges from its mish-mash of basic arcade genres as a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Despite the glaring omission of online play and a few rough edges, new and returning fans should be pleased.

The lack of online co-op in the new Battletoads is definitely the game's biggest flaw, so if fans can overlook that, they will find what is otherwise a great beat 'em up throwback with hilarious scenes, fun combat, and plenty of variety. And with it being on Xbox Game Pass, subscribers have no reason not to check it out. Overall, this Battletoads comeback is a major success and is sure to leave a smile on players' faces, and so hopefully fans don't have to wait 26 years for the next entry in the series.

Battletoads returns after 26 years, and it's a love letter to gaming past and present.

After more than a quarter of a century in limbo, this new iteration of the legendarily difficult Battletoads takes everything that made the NES original memorable and reworks it into a friendlier, funnier beat ‘em up. Entertaining characters with a great visual style, simple but rewarding combat and minigames, and a rad soundtrack coalesce into a respectably enjoyable revival, with its most notable shortcomings being that enemy variety is a little slim and the story is over too quickly.

Battletoads is another one of 2020’s infamous oddities. I suspect it’s going to be highly polarizing (not only due to the adherence to retro style difficulty but the newness of the art and humor), but it somewhat won me over due to sheer force of will. I also can safely assume that I’m going to be on the higher-end of the spectrum of liking it: but if we never see these dudes again because this game was an absolute cacophony, I’ll be a bit bummed.

Without wishing to damn it with faint praise, Battletoads is pretty much exactly what you’d think it would be. Taking clear influence from the 90s classics whilst adding in some welcome modern approaches, there is plenty here to enjoy while it lasts. An ideal perfect Game Pass title, this is well worth checking out, warts and all.

A game so bizarre it’s hard to tell whether it’s purposefully trolling its audience or if it really thinks its random collection of mini-games, crass humour, and wasted potential is a sensible way to go about rebooting Battletoads.