Overview – developed by Ponty Pants and No Gravity Development with publishing handled by No Gravity Games, Punch A Bunch is a physics based boxing title, where there is a focus on timing over button mashing. Take on three championships, with a range of weird and wacky fighters as you aim to be the number one fighter in the world. This version of the game is exclusively available for the Nintendo Switch, with a link to the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank No Gravity Games for providing the copy of Punch A Bunch that was used for this piece via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. There is no real plotline for this title, so I will be going straight into covering the gameplay of Punch A Bunch.
Gameplay – Punch A Bunch is a physics based boxing title, where the player must engage in boxing battles with a range of unique opponents. Take on three championships ranking from Amateur to Pro, with opponents that will push your abilities to the limit. Each of the championships is split into 5 battles, against increasingly tough opponents. The objective of each fight is to knock the opponent out by depleting their health, duking it out in physics based brawls.
In a fight the player has access to a relatively basic, with the ability to punch high, punch low, block and dash which is all the player can really do. This is achieved in two ways, the first is the main attraction of the game, using the twin stick controls that is the main focus of this game. The player can move around with the left and position their body with the right. This combines with the punch button that will throw a strike in the direction of the player body.
This system makes full use of the physics system that the game uses, with the player and opponent wobbling about as they throw punches. However, this comes with its own flaws, as the physics system can make it very difficult for players to throw strikes at their opponents. This is made more difficult by the fact that the enemy AI can easily hit the player, especially when a strike is missed or doesn’t connect properly.
To try and make it easier for players to strike hard with their attacks, there is a system called punch assist, where players are able to press buttons for dedicated attacks. This does make it easier to throw out specific strikes, but can leave the player unable to block effectively. There are also additional mechanics including bash, which is meant to disrupt the opponent and adrenaline that powers the player up, but these don’t seem to have any effect.
There is an unfortunate balance to the gameplay with this game, as there is also a stamina system that can make the battles much harder. When taking shots or being blocked, the stamina meter will deplete, which will tire out the boxer and leave them open to being stunned. While this does affect both fighters, the player is more likely to be stunned by the lightning reactions of the AI, leaving them open to taking massive damage.
This isn’t the only issue that this release suffers from sadly, as the majority of the AI fighters have special attacks that will deal massive damage if they land. These attacks can also be unblockable, which will lead to massive damage if the player gets hit by them. This makes the game less of a reactive fighting title and more of an exercise in pattern recognition. Due to this, there is a very high skill ceiling to the combat which could be off-putting to some.
When the player defeats an opponent, they can earn rewards based on their performance. These are cosmetic items that they can put on their fighter, allowing them to customise the appearance with a range of outfit parts. These reward challenges include beating the opponent in a set amount of time, not taking damage in a fight and more. When a championship is cleared, fights can be replayed to set new times and clear objectives.
The last thing to discuss is the multiplayer in this release. There is a local multiplayer battle system for this release, where two players can battle it out in split screen battles. There is little in terms of customisation of the arena where battles take place, but if there is more than one save active, the player can use the customised fighter for that profile. The local battles can be replayed endlessly, while providing a simple and fun time.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to cover the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – this title has a complicated control method, with the use of twin stick controls and the physics system to get the most out of each strike. This can make for an awkward experience if players have difficulty getting to grips with the timings. There is a simplified punch system for players who may struggle with this, but it does have its own issues. These inputs work pretty well with all standard controllers.
Difficulty – there is quite the steep difficulty curve with this title, as there is a need to really master the gameplay mechanics of the game. There is a tutorial that will teach the player how to fight, which is effective in teaching the basics. However, the fights themselves are much more complex, with the AI opponents having pinpoint accuracy and special attacks that can wipe a player out in seconds. This can really kill the flow for players, making it a war of attrition to replay stages.
Presentation – the visual style for this game is very simple, with the characters made up of blobs and simple outfit parts/arenas. This makes for an easy to silly experience watching the different boxers wobbling about when trying to hit them, which works in the games favour with the solid colors and streamlined visuals. The sound for this release works well with the visuals, with a solid soundtrack and decent sound effects that fit the overall presentation.
Final Thoughts – when first starting this title, I was expecting something in the vein of Punch-Out, with a cast of wacky fighters to take on. However, the further I got into this, the more that it feels like a test of patience as I had to learn how to avoid the different special attacks. This can cause a lot of frustration when getting to the later battles, as the special attacks can deal massive amounts of damage and in some cases be an instant defeat.
I am unsure about recommending this title, as it can be a very frustrating experience with the controls and sudden difficulty spikes that can occur. It can be a lot of fun and has a level of satisfaction to it when beating the championships, but the need to keep replaying earlier fights to get further may put people off. The inclusion of multiplayer and unlockable rewards does help the game, but sadly the other difficulties I had soured my experience.
In the end, I give Punch A Bunch a final score of 3/5. This is a silly physics based brawler that can be a lot of fun, but sadly is weighed down difficult to use controls and difficulty spikes that can be a frustration that sours the overall experience. If you want to check this game out for yourself, there will be a link to the game below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 