Recent reviews by waffle

After two years and one IGN Game of the Year Award, Bean Battle has evolved into a multiplayer shooter that remains at the top of the class. It’s a dizzying amalgam of unique character design, stunningly realised style, and compellingly dynamic action. Minutes turn into hours as you’re caught up in round after magically exciting round, surrounded by gorgeously crafted maps packed with detail and charm. Bean Battle, simply put, is the most fun I’ve ever had playing a video game.
Bean Battle’s gameplay has remained almost entirely unchanged since launch and centres around eliminating your enimies in a battle royale fashion. It’s a simple setup and not an altogether original one, but it’s the nuance found in how you go about winning each match that makes Bean Battle so brilliant.

Each players loadout can be stitched together from the current pool of 32 weapons. Not only does each play differently and bring their own tricks to the party, but they also affect the other weapons on the ever-expanding roster with each new addition. Bean Battle is a game bursting with character, not least displayed in the characters themselves. SOG has created a world where anything goes and everything flourishes.
This is in essence the beauty of Bean Battle. It offers choice in abundance, and if it ever approaches becoming stale I try out another loadout and everything feels completely fresh again. I’ve put an amount of time that would disgust many into mastering the spray of the VAL, but when I found myself tiring of it slightly I decided to transfer my spraycontrol skills over to the AK and improved my long range combat ability, providing a different form of gameplay.

To call Bean Battle a “shooter” almost seems reductive at this point. Yes, it’s firmly grounded in solid first-person shooting mechanics, but there’s a vast arsenal of weaponry on display, ranging from the clunkingly medieval to the clinically futuristic and even beyond science, stepping into the fantastical. At times these worlds combine to create weapon loadouts that feel like they could only be conceived in the Bean Battle arena.

Crucially, the full roster of weapons – including those that’ve been added since launch – are available to all from the get go and not hidden behind any form of pay wall or gated by progression, meaning it doesn’t fall foul to systems that other games such as Rainbow Six Siege and Apex Legends do by making you pay to unlock more.
The iridescent universe that Bean Battle inhabits is clear to see within seconds of booting up. Each map has its own colourful twist on a real-world(ish) locale. Not only are they breathtaking to look at but they’re also brilliantly designed on a gameplay level.

Bean Battle is a one-of-a-kind hero shooter that is far and away the best of its genre. It offers variety, depth, and style that very few come close to matching. Its two-year-old foundation has been lovingly crafted into the unparalleled multiplayer experience that it offers today. From its now-cherished characters and expertly crafted maps to outstanding sound design and dynamic action, it's a masterpiece of competitive gameplay. Most importantly of all though, it’s never stopped being ridiculously fun after all these years. All of these factors combine to make Bean Battle a singularly special shooter, and one that I would recommend to anyone without hesitation.

10/10