After an exciting reveal at The Game Awards in 2022, Crash Team Rumble has been shaping up behind the scenes, and Toys For Bob has revealed some of the chaos.
The latest title, Crash Team Rumble, is a 4 vs. 4 multiplayer title from Toys For Bob, the same developers that brought us Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. The designers at Toys For Bob invited us along to see what’s behind the curtain for the upcoming game, and it’s shaping up to be a chaotic blast centred around the collection of wumpa fruit, a delicious staple of any Crash Bandicoot video game.
Fortunately, Crash Team Rumble incorporates many of the things the Crash series is beloved for and removes the monotony that made Crash Bash a tedious chore. The primary goal of the new CTR is to collect more wumpa fruit than the opposing team. The stage is set in familiar-looking locations that feel ripped straight from the Crash series, with plenty of hazards and power-ups to help combatants more efficiently collect Wumpa for victory.
While Crash Team Rumble features eight playable characters on-screen at once, the preview ran smoothly and showcased the chaos that can occur during a CTR match. All the Crash Bandicoot staples are here: avoiding hazards, precision-based platforming, smashing crates for rewards and, of course, the iconic characters from the mainline series.
There are three hero types in Crash Team Rumble: the Scorer, the Blocker, and the Booster. While a booster’s primary focus is to net buffs for their team’s Wumpa score, the Blocker is tasked with stopping the opposing team from getting boosts or collecting the life source fruit of the game.
The iconic Crash universe characters are relegated to these roles. Dingo Dile plays a bulky Blocker, and Coco is tasked with boosting her teammates by capturing gems and activating Relic Stations (more on that later). Even the alternate universe Tawna from Crash Bandicoot 4 makes an appearance as a scorer character to bolster the game’s roster. It will be essential for players to utilize the different character roles to achieve victory.
Crash Team Rumble Key Mechanics
Wumpa collection is the bread and butter of a Rumble match, as the team who banks the required Wumpa amount first wins! The developers noted that they have NOT instituted a time limit on matches as they’ve seen no reason to yet, so a match can potentially go on FOREVER until the requirement is met.
Relics are featured in CTR, but this time as collectibles (not Time Trial rewards), and depositing them into a Relic Station can cause powerups to affect the battlefield. An Uka Uka powerup may take many relics to activate, but the carnage of meteors raining down on the map can be a helpful distraction while collecting Wumpa.
Gem Clusters (now NO LONGER collectibles) are strewn throughout each map, and are key for making the most out of banking Wumpa. A Booster character merely needs to jump on each gem platform in a cluster to activate a sweet Wumpa boost that can increase the amount of Wumpa gained for banking. These platforms operate similarly to capturing an objective in a territory-based game type, but much faster.
For those that need more heroics, Crash Team Rumble has you covered. Hero powers are also available, players are allowed to equip their character with a notable power that can turn the tide of the Rumble match at the drop of a hat. Hero stats and power differential create a variety of playstyles that can tailor to any individual’s needs. Five key stats Health, Wumpa Capacity, Combat, Mobility and Difficulty separate each hero from each other, and promote a wealth of different combination options to try out.
Crash Team Rumble gives Crash fanatics a way to play as fan-favourite characters in different roles while scoring Wumpa and sticking it to opposing teams. I couldn’t help but relate CTR to MOBA-type games like Pokémon Unite, as heroes do have different enough playstyles, and teamwork is so heavily featured it’s hard not to see.
Crash series music will indeed be featured throughout the entirety of the game, so that’s a huge win for Crash fans. When asked if third-party characters would be included in CTR, the developers were very hush about it, so fans will have to wait and see if other Toys For Bob licensed characters — like Spyro — will be included in the chaos.
Crash Team Rumble will unleash a beta period for those that preorder the title from April 20 until April 24. The main title’s scheduled release date is June 20, 2023, and features crossplay between the supported platforms of PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
