GigaBash Review

GigaBash, in case you only heard about it now, is a Kaiju brawler game by Passion Republic Games from Malaysia (hooray for more Southeast Asian Devs!). Players will get to control Kaiju known as Titans and a few Heroes in an all-out rampage for supremacy on who will claim Planet Earth on its own.

The novelty is strong with GigaBash featuring some familiar Kaiju and hero archetypes filling in for the actual popular licensed kaiju or hero on hand. You have characters like Gigaman who’s supposed to represent Ultraman and Gorogong who’s obviously a stand-in for Gojira.

There’s always a market for brawler-type games because of their fun gameplay, but with the emergence of many other similar titles, will GigaBash stand out enough to be that Kaiju crossover of your dreams? Read on!

Come for the Kaiju battles…

Initially, I wasn’t really sold on GigaBash. Sure, I got a chuckle from playing as the has-been hero Gigaman and of course the Gojira stand-in Gorogong, but it left much to be desired. I even found myself going a few rounds as the Gundam clone Thundatross but to no avail.

I figured I’d try out the story mode, which actually got me on board with the game thanks to its detailed tutorial. Surprisingly, I really appreciated GigaBash‘s Story mode as it taught me the ins and outs of each character.

Once I started to learn how to play the game with the fundamentals of each character, it becomes surprisingly involved. You have a rather simple but intuitive control scheme, with your basic attacks and your special attacks being your main damage dealers. Paired with counterattacks and dash attacks, there are avenues here to string things together for some impressive looking combos.

The GigaBash story mode has its own charm where you complete objectives for each character and face off against some of its more interesting boss characters. With this, you’re able to unlock secret characters to complete your roster of 10 playable characters, including the sentient being Kongkrete.

I was hoping for actual licensed characters with GigaBash, but even without it, the Story mode really won me over with its existing lore that reminded me of games of its type that introduced these quirky kaiju and heroes.

Just like Clayfigher and Killer Instinct, as you immerse yourself in these games, GigaBash will definitely win you over with its tongue-in-cheek humor and its off-beat storytelling.

…stay for the multiplayer

However, the Story mode ends as quickly as it starts. You’ll only have access have four playable characters with their own story (Gorogong, Pipijuras, Wooley, and Thundatross), while the others won’t have anything but additional lore in the extras menu.

In just under an hour, most of the single player options you have for the game has been depleted, and you would jump back into online multiplayer to increase your player level, which unlocks more of the concept art, music, and extra levels. Otherwise, you’re left to either increase the difficulty or play couch co-op with generated bots. You can also practice in the gym to improve your skills.

The single-player offering of GigaBash is understandably light, and while I would have appreciated more, the real meat of the game lies in multiplayer, especially in its couch co-op and minigames.

The Minigame Mayhem allows for some side objectives like The Floor is Lava or the Abyss, where you could use the objectives to provide some sudden death options versus beating down your opponent to a pulp. It’s a great option if you can wrangle four people to play with you (as well as three extra controllers), but unfortunately, this isn’t an option online, where you’re limited to Battle Royale and 2-vs-2 Team Battles.

The novelty is there until it isn’t, and I feel that while each character is unique and has their own skill set, there is definitely an opportunity for more characters beyond the 10 Kaiju roster. With its current price point, the barrier of entry is quite high, especially since it has such a shallow single-player offering. After 2-3 hours of play, unless I’m inviting over three other friends, much of the gameplay is very fun yet also very limited.

What We Liked:

• Fun 4-player multiplayer battles.
• Light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek story mode to keep you entertained.
• Art and music unlocked via a level-up system.

What We Didn’t Like:

• Story mode is too short and limited to only four characters.
• Roster could use more characters.
• Mini-games unavailable in online multiplayer

Verdict: Wait For It…

GigaBash‘s concept is pretty novel at the start, but the novelty ends quite quickly with the short story mode and preference for couch co-op. That being said, as a party game with a few friends, there is a lot of fun to be had with GigaBash.

I do feel that there should be more options for playable characters and even story modes for the other six characters in the future to extend the novelty experienced in the game. There are a lot of opportunities here to grow the game and its roster, which really opens up the door for licensed Kaiju’s or collabs. Until then, GigaBash is a fun and serviceable yet short-lived affair.

*GigaBash was reviewed on a PS5 with a review code provided by the publisher.