I cannot fault the idea behind this game, it is a fast paced, funny, four player game full of tasty treats, but the aim of the game? Well that is to be the tastiest.
Lets break it down a little, you are a cake, you are trying to be sold in a cake shop. Plot twist, you are a pretty boring cake without any toppings and the customer usually has a specific request. You have to play a series of minigames and battles against the other cakes to win coins. The person with the most coins can buy the most toppings which, if they stick to the brief of the customer, will allow them claim their frosting crown as the tastiest cake of them all. Different toppings have different scorings and if you make good combinations you get extra points. Simple.
The idea itself is brilliant, who doesn’t love cake? This is not the only great idea here, the cake bash levels, where the majority of the emphasis is beating up your foes to stop them getting good points, are separated by less violent ‘snack time’ mini games which are more skill based. Whatever you are playing, all of the levels are competitive and creative, they are simple but brilliantly executed. Whether its trying to cover yourself in the most jelly babies or attempting to fill a cheesecake with strawberries the battles are exciting. Then there is the tension of trying to get the perfectly toasted marshmallows or stacking the tallest ice cream tower in the snack time games. What is clear, is that there are fun elements in all the games, not to mention a good amount of cake bashing itself.
Another interesting thing about the levels, other than the changing challenge types, is that the arena changes. You and your fellow players vote for your favorite arena, and each one comes with its own challenges including fire, ravenous pigeons and even some fairly snappy crabs. Any Cake Bash level can be paired with any of the scenes, so each time you play will be different combinations.
The artwork is adorable, a series of kawaii style cakes with different colours and fillings, what is not to like? It’s part of what makes the game so family friendly and accessible to all. That combined with the simple control design certainly makes Cake Bash ideal for family friendly fun but it also wouldn’t make a bad drinking game (always drink responsibly folks). There is online multiplayer, local and even you vs bots, meaning you don’t have to know a tonne of people with the game to play. It is a great laugh and whilst some of the games are a little trickier than others – I’m looking at you campfire – there is a knack and once you get it there is nothing stopping you from being the tastiest!
Despite its initial experience being very positive, there is definitely a question of how enjoyable the game would be over time. Similar to current popular multiplayer games such as Gang Beasts or Among Us the game really focusses on having a good group to play with. For myself I was not able to play online, the loading time seems to be endless, that is not to say that it isn’t possible, but perhaps the audience is not yet large enough for consistent multiplayer matches. Unlike the previously mentioned games Cake Bash does have some progression opportunity, similar to Mario Party in this respect, the game allows you to unlock new stages, characters and skins. It seems that the game ticks all the boxes that it set out to do and despite potentially wearing a little thin over time, it is a well rounded party game which will certainly provide hours of fun.
Unfortunately this review was conducted during lockdown 2020 and as a result there were only 2 players available for test purposes. Luckily another feature of the local multiplayer is filling the rest of the bench with bot competitors so we didn’t always have a half empty arena. One of the really excellent perks of having the Nintendo Switch is that it allows for more players than could fit in an average living room (8 players to be precise). This is the only other potential variable that I would suggest lets the game down, there are a maximum of four players, when the Nintendo Switch has the capability to have many more. As with most games like this, the more the merrier. There are really no faults that I can find to do with any game play, glitching, controls, graphics, anything actually. An almost faultless game if you excuse the fact that it has a small maximum capacity for the Switch and that the online multiplayer did not work on any occasion that I tried.
A Nintendo Switch Review Code was provided by Coatsink
