Ra Ra BOOM

Y'know, I love me the 1990s beat-em-up genre, and this one clearly loves it too. The studio is local to me in Cincy and this game has been getting hype in the region for a number of years. Great voice acting and music, as well as genre references galore. The breakdown for me was in both the gameplay itself, which had a number of unpleasant physics quirks (such as the "hover" jumps that ruin attack timing), and the lack of animation in the game's cinematics, which otherwise seem to be begging for some dynamic motion. Looking forward to an update version of this game, which is an overall terrific project for us in Cincy.

It's not really a beat em up, and it's not really a shooter either. There's a ton of art, and the art looks nice, but the writing is like i dunno it's not very fun. I'm sorry

I don't like to leave negative reviews on indie games, but I can't really recommend this one. RA RA BOOM really shines in art direction, character design, voice acting, and overall flair, but it really falls flat in other areas. Despite having four distinct playable characters, they all play very similarly to each other, with only minor differences between them all. The game has a selection of nine short stages, and the final two rely pretty heavily on reused content. RA RA BOOM tries to incentivize replays with "Homework Assignments", which more or less boil down to beating previous levels over again with fewer abilities or harder enemies, which aren't particularly fun or rewarding. The moment-to-moment combat isn't horrible, but it gets old fast with a very limited pool of useful moves shared between all of the playable characters and little to no variation in gameplay gimmicks or level design. The scrap shop mechanic has potential, but ends up feeling mostly inconsequential. You can pick up pieces of scrap in levels that you can then spend on various upgrades, but most upgrades come in such small increments that they're barely noticeable, with a few even feeling detrimental. T…

"Criminally underrated" I think is safe to say even though I spent just short of an hour in the game. Only reason I stop is because my hand hurts from playing with keyboard. My controller is detected and all but button mapping is whack, it's a bit of a wacky newer controller (PDP Rematch) and I didn't want to bother fixing this so that's rather a me issue. To friends I'd just say "It's good fun, go play it, even better if you're not alone!" and leave it at that. Even for a review I wouldn't want to complicate it too much, the game is simple enough for just about anyone to pick it up and mixes in just about enough to not get overwhelmed. You have your basic moves and you can unlock more with scrap you collect from beating up enemies, you're also taught early that just button mashing blindly is not gonna get you far (ie certain enemies reflecting damage). Visually I'm confident to say there's no way you'll be disappointed, Unless of course you're going in with unrealistic expectations but that's on you then. The game is quite colourful but still easy on the eyes, telling you its story around a futuristic post apocalypse Earth in a serious manner. All the while still not taking itse…

This is a good beat em up made with a lot of love. The presentation is excellent, with great in‑game graphics and music. I enjoyed the mechanics overall. The way specials change in effectiveness depending on the meter is a nice touch, and the shooting adds some variety as another way to manage space without becoming too important (definitely not a run and gun). The enemies are interesting, and the lane system works very well. The developers clearly put a lot of effort into the story. As a die hard fan of classic beat em ups, I would personally cut some of the dialogue, but I'm not saying they are bad. The only talks I did not enjoy much was the once that pop up during fights, cuz they interrup the good music and are distracting. The combat is simple, but thanks to the dodge, the gun, and the heavy attack, it never becomes pure button mashing. The biggest negative for me is the jumping. It feels more like floating than jumping because it is slow and you can move freely in the air. You can even stay suspended for a few seconds while punching, which looks and feels strange. In addition, I feel the characters need some rebalancing cuz the girl with the blue hair is noticible the strong…

It's a good, short game for fans of the old style arcade games for Simpsons, Xmen, or Ninja Turtles. More variety of moves then those games, though combat and levels are a bit repetitive. There is some leveling and rogue-lite elements added as well. Story is cute. As it was made in Cincinnati there are a few small easter eggs for natives.