Crash Bandicoot was once one of the industry's premiere platforming franchises, positioned as PlayStation's answer to Nintendo's Super Mario. The Naughty Dog-developed Crash Bandicoot games earned a great deal of success, but things fell off the rails a bit when the franchise was handed over to other studios. Following a string of disappointing games, Crash Bandicoot went on an extended hiatus before finally returning in 2017 with Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. Since then, the Crash franchise has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts, with a remake of Crash Team Racing, the brand-new Crash Bandicoot 4 adventure, a Crash mobile game, and now Crash Team Rumble.
Crash Team Rumble is a 4v4 multiplayer game that is kind of like Destiny 2's Gambit meets Crash Bandicoot platforming. The goal is to collect Wumpa Fruit and deposit them in the bank, not unlike how Destiny 2 Gambit players collect and deposit motes. The difference is that while Destiny 2 Gambit players are separate from each other except for invasions, Crash Team Rumble competitors battle it out in the same arena.
This means that Crash Team Rumble players are able to sabotage one another all the time, whether that's by directly engaging in combat or triggering traps to make their life more difficult. Matches can become incredibly chaotic, but well-coordinated teams can overcome this and regularly pull out victories.
Crash Team Rumble characters are separated into three categories: Scorers, Blockers, and Boosters. Scorers focus on scoring points for the team, primarily by collecting Wumpa Fruit and bringing it back to their bank. Blockers attempt to stop the other team from depositing Wumpa Fruit, with the only Blocker available in the beta being Dingodile and his handy vacuum that can rob opponents of their fruit. And finally, Boosters are a support class that are meant to focus on activating the traps around the map as well as gems that give the team bonus points for a limited time.
When a team sticks to their roles, Crash Team Rumble can be a blast. Just like it's thrilling in Destiny 2's Gambit to take out an enemy player who's hoarding 15 motes, it's an adrenaline rush to play as Dingodile and knock out enemies in Crash Team Rumble who are just about to deposit a full stock of Wumpa Fruit. Playing as a Scorer character like Crash Bandicoot is nerve-wracking, as players have to move as fast as possible to collect Wumpa Fruit and avoid enemy attacks. Boosters are the most challenging class to play effectively since they not only have to focus on activating the bonuses around the map, but they also need to be scoring points to keep up with the enemy team.
The problem in the Crash Team Rumble beta is that there are players who don't really stick to the roles they pick and instead tend to do whatever they want. Because of this, it's a lot more fun to play Crash Team Rumble in a group of four players who are regularly communicating with each other when it comes to character selection and strategizing. With the right team, Crash Team Rumble comes together, and it becomes apparent why Toys for Bob decided to go in such an unexpected direction by making a 4v4 competitive Crash Bandicoot game.
Gameplay-wise, Crash Team Rumble is polished, smooth, and it can be fun enough that it becomes difficult to put down the controller. Unfortunately, there are some big clouds hanging above its head. Crash Team Rumble's beta makes it clear that the game is a lot of fun to play, but it also raises some serious concerns about monetization and how the game's live service elements will work post-launch.
Like most competitive multiplayer games nowadays, Crash Team Rumble features a Battle Pass that players can level up to earn special rewards. Individual characters in Crash Team Rumble also have their own rewards players can unlock. Leveling up characters in Crash Team Rumble doesn't take an egregious amount of time, but leveling up the Battle Pass is extremely grindy, at least with how it's implemented in the beta.
After five games and performing very well and winning most of them, we didn't even reach level 2 in the Battle Pass. There are challenges in Crash Team Rumble that makes it easier to level up the Battle Pass, like in Fortnite, but even completing those resulted in barely any progress. Ultimately, we were able to make it to level 2 after about 10 games. With so many other live service games demanding one's attention, Crash Team Rumble makes it clear that it's going to be an extreme time sink to complete the Battle Pass, which could turn some players off the game entirely.
What makes Crash Team Rumble's grindy Battle Pass even more concerning is that the game isn't even free-to-play. Surprisingly, Crash Team Rumble is releasing as a paid game despite being multiplayer-only. This is a rather head-scratching decision considering the nature of the game, but full judgment will have to wait until the game is out in June.
Crash Team Rumble is a surprisingly fun twist on the Crash Bandicoot universe, but its Battle Pass and potential monetization are major concerns. Hopefully the developers are able to take feedback from the Crash Team Rumble beta and improve things for the final product so that it has the chance to live up to its full potential.
Crash Team Rumble launches June 20 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
