Lamenting the loss of Robot Wars, again? Smashpunks might help you scratch that robotic mayhem itch.
There have been several official Robot Wars video games over the years and, if I remember correctly, they have not been well-received. Which is a shame, but not entirely surprising – the BBC has consistently undervalued the series over the years, culminating in the cancellation of the excellent Dara Ó Briain / Angela Scanlon fronted revival in 2017.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense, because it’s a brilliant TV concept and an even better video game one. But when things get handled poorly, or put out to pasture, it affords the opportunity for new blood and new takes on those ideas.
This leads us nicely onto Smashpunks, an indie game that is basically what happens if you smash together Robot Wars and Rocket League.
I mean, I could explain more what it’s about, but that elevator pitch is really all you need to know. Robots. Smashing. Weapons. Arenas. Multiplayer. Mayhem. That’s Smashpunks in a nutshell.
As is often the way, Smashpunks is going into Steam Early Access. This will allow its developers, Prospect Games, to iterate upon the game in real-time with an active player base and lots of audience feedback. The developer has form in that regard – Smashpunks was previously called Robot Champions, but its focus changed to the Robot Wars-style project it is now following early alpha testing.
But that’s in the future. Right now, Smashpunks is featuring in Steam Playtests, a limited-time, free-to-play event that will allow players to kick the tyres on the game’s vehicular version of capture the flag.
If you want in on that, you’d best move quickly: invites are limited and Smashpunks won’t stay in Steam Playtests forever.
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