LBR was provided with an Xbox review key from Plan of Attack to review Bish Bash Bots.
Bish Bash Bots is a cute tower defense indie from CATASTROPHIC_OVERLOAD and publisher Firestoke. Gameplay is mostly built around basic button mashing and setting up defenses, across a variety of themed environments. It also features some physics-based combat and smart enemy navigation.
In Bish Bash Bots, a group of young heroes uses their technological knowhow to rescue the world from a robot uprising, one wave at a time. Players must work together and use special abilities to protect an EMP long enough to blast the waves of attacking robots. Meanwhile, you’ll have to collect enemy scrap for upgrades.
Bish Bash Bots launches tomorrow on October 19th, 2023. It will be available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and the Nintendo Switch. For your consideration, here’s the official gameplay trailer from Firestoke’s YouTube channel:
Bish Bash Bots has a terrific theme, and wisely soaks up the colorful coziness of its silly premise. It also supports both online and local co-op, which is always welcome. It wouldn’t have nearly as much appeal for a single player.
This game was distinctly designed as an introductory tower defense experience for younger players. The gameplay is very straightforward, and hitting one button is enough to accomplish most tasks.
The different worlds do introduce some neat ideas, such as lifting larger enemies around with a crane, or using plant-life as a grenade.
But for the most part, there’s likely nothing here that will surprise or challenge older players. Many of the enemy mechanics exist elsewhere, and some of the enemies even share similar behavior.
The hero abilities are very basic, and beyond the first wave, your brawling isn’t too effective. That’s fine, but it does discourage you from enjoying the promised bashing and brawling as much.
The best novelty that Bish Bash Bots has to offer is the relationship between the physics system and the enemy AI. The enemies naturally flock together and return to their path, which is neat. Enemies and players alike can be pushed around by misplaced swings, so it’s important in this game to direct your momentum appropriately.
This is often used to herd enemies into pits. Once enemies that shock you enter the fray, it can be fun to use their own force against them, and shock yourself just to sweep them into a pit.
However, the physics can also feel a bit sloppy. It’s possible this was due to the Xbox port, which was buggy all around. The game frequently misplaced cosmetics, and the interface currently suggests that I use the start button for all functions.
Final Thoughts
Bish Bash Bots has a breezy, adorable theme, with polished graphics and a great soundtrack. It’s easy to learn, has an interactive world, and there’s a decent amount of content to discover. There’s some lighthearted fun, here. But the gameplay is also a bit swimmy, buggy, simple and familiar.
Score: 6.5/10
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