Clumsy Rush
Recently we were sent a code for RedDeer Games’ Clumsy Rush, a frantic party game where you take control of one of 27 hippos to battle against your friends to get the crown and race to the finish line.
It’s a very simple concept, but with a huge dose of challenge added in - you see, the hippos feet are controlled independently using the trigger buttons. Holding the trigger determines how far round you move your leg, which can lead to a tonne of mistakes and a lot of competitive shouting from players. This, combined with a whole bunch of different modifiers that can be added at the start of each round, makes things so much more difficult than it first seems.
As with most games, Allan is supernaturally talented here - and I say that through gritted teeth - he just picks up a controller and he’s good at the game already. We played repeatedly, to the point of my inner child breaking free and declaring that it simply wasn’t fair that he’s this good at a game we’ve just started. He had a few slip ups, but always regained control pretty quickly whereas I would be running in tight circles, hands getting sweatier, squawking about how it is inhuman for him to be beating me 20-0 and I’m barely getting a single grab of the crown, let alone getting it across the finish line.
It’s a hilarious game, and one that provides a lot of replayability due to the short levels and wide variety of options for playing. It’s not a deep game, and doesn’t provide a lot other than what you see on the surface but it works. The kids enjoy it, and it leads to a whole lot of laughter. The art style is adorable, with lots of pastel colours and plenty of cute and funny alternate hippos to choose from, ranging from different jobs all the way to a certain bouffant-haired Donald with his red tie.
Level designs are pretty short, but jam-packed with obstacles to make your trip to the finish line even more of a challenge. Conveyor belts pushing you back, or slippy ice making it impossible to run add extra things to be aware of when you’re trying to get the crown, and depending on the active modifier, things just might get a lot harder when you find yourself turning invisible as soon as you have the crown, etc.
One thing I do think the developers really missed out on here is for more people to be able to play at once. As of now, you are limited to only two players co-op, which feels like a bit of a waste since many party games like this at least have the ability for four players. Also, the single player mode feels severely lacking as there are no AI players to take on - you just make your way to the end of the level and that’s you done. It’s an adorable game, and one that we did have fun with, but there’s a lot more that could be added here. At the low price of only £4.99 on the Switch eShop, you can’t really complain as you do get your money’s worth.
In the end, we decided to give Clumsy Rush the Collecting Asylum rating of 6/10.
Have you played Clumsy Rush yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to RedDeer Games for the Clumsy Rush Switch review code!
