If you feel sorely in need of a ray of sunshine, you enjoy same-screen multiplayer games such as Towerfall, and you’re unfussed about murdering slimes, consider Bopl Battle. Out today, it’s a jolly 2D arena brawler in which each player is a smiling ball of gloop, equipped with pre-selected special abilities that cover an amusing range.
You can affix rocket engines to floating platforms, for example, so as to launch them at other players. Or you can summon a black hole. Or you can turn yourself into a bow-and-arrow. I’ve had a quick go of the demo, and it seems like a laugh, though being a remote worker I don’t have anybody around to play with. Boo hoo.
Steam user reviewers seem to like Bopl Battle - it's got a Positive consensus at the time of writing. I’m personally undecided whether it’s a brisk 15 minutes of fun or a lunchtime multiplayer regular, but I have a soft spot for same-screen experiences, especially when they let me supersize myself and transform into a boulder. New abilities drop from the top of the stage at intervals, allowing you to expand your arsenal and perform combos, so as to wreak havoc on other mucus-based lifeforms.
Getting knocked into the water beneath each stage is a KO, but being a slime, you can stick to surfaces and ooze around the undersides of platforms. Just watch out for the pop-up swords.
There’s online and local multiplayer support. Bear in mind that you’ll need controllers if you’re playing a local session, as only one player can use the keyboard. Here’s the Steam page.
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