There’s no escaping the fact: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is one of the most blatant and shameless rip-offs seen this generation. It might as well embrace the sarcasm and actually call itself Sony Smash Bros., because Sony’s refusal to admit what it’s doing makes me cringe every time the game comes up.
Oh, but here’s the thing … it’s still pretty fun.
I got to play with Radec (of course!), Sweet Tooth, and Big Daddy, and I had a blast with all of them. Big Daddy may be a tad overpowered, as every person who picked him seemed to win, but the chaotic combat of Super Smash Bros. has nonetheless been preserved quite well, and it’s surprisingly effective with Sony’s characters, despite them not being quite so iconic as Nintendo’s. Watching Nathan Drake and Parappa the Rapper duke it out might not be too nostalgic, but it’s still pretty damn cool.
All the characters felt different to play with, and fought in a way that remained remarkably true to them. Radec feels like the brutal soldier he was trained to be, firing a range of Helghan weaponry and wielding his signature combat knife. Sweet Tooth is heavy but has fast and chaotic attacks with an arsenal of classic Twisted Metal weapons. Meanwhile, the Big Daddy lumbers forth and utilizes a host of recognizable Plasmids, as well as his vicious drill.
Yes, this game is shamelessly copying Nintendo, but it seems to be doing it well so far. I think I can live with that.
