Gang Beasts

Gang Beasts is less a fighting game and more a drunken jelly-baby workplace accident simulator. You do not so much “control” your character as politely negotiate with a wobbly lump of meat wearing a costume, then watch as it grabs the wrong person, punches the air, hugs an enemy by mistake, and falls into industrial machinery with the confidence of a champion.

Set in the mean streets of Beef City, Gang Beasts is a silly multiplayer party brawler built around gelatinous characters, slapstick fighting, and hazardous environments. [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/285900/Gang_Beasts/) describes it exactly that way, and honestly, no serious marketing copy could improve on “surly gelatinous characters” fighting in “absurd hazardous environments.” That is the whole game: grab, punch, lift, throw, panic, scream, repeat.

The magic is the physics. Every fight feels like a pub argument between inflatable mascots. You try to toss someone into a grinder, but your little jelly idiot grabs the railing instead. You attempt a heroic knockout punch, miss completely, and accidentally eliminate yourself. You cling to a ledge while three other players try to peel you off like a stubborn sticker. It is messy, unfair, ridiculous, and frequently hilarious.

As a party game, Gang Beasts is genuinely excellent. Local multiplayer is where it shines brightest: four people on a couch shouting “LET GO OF ME!” at least 600 times per hour. The Steam feature list includes online PvP, shared/split-screen PvP, Remote Play Together, and family sharing, so there are plenty of ways to get people involved. But the closer everyone is to the same room, the funnier it gets, because half the entertainment is watching friendships quietly deteriorate over who “definitely pressed grab first.”

The arenas are a huge part of the charm. Gang Beasts understands that the best fighting stage is not a balanced, respectful arena. It is a dangerous death trap with trains, trucks, elevators, ledges, fans, grinders, and other workplace hazards that would make an insurance company physically faint. The environment is often more threatening than the players, which is perfect, because most players are already dangerous enough to themselves.

That said, an honest review has to admit the obvious: Gang Beasts is not a precise competitive fighter. If you want clean hitboxes, tight balancing, and deep tournament-level mastery, this is not the one. The controls are intentionally awkward, and the same physics that make it funny can also make it frustrating. Sometimes you lose because someone outplayed you. Sometimes you lose because your character appeared to forget which limbs were insured.

Solo play is also not the main reason to buy it. Yes, there are modes beyond standard brawling, including melee and gang modes, where you can fight local/online enemies or team up against the gangs of Beef City. But Gang Beasts lives and dies by the chaos of other human beings. Alone, it is a weird toy. With friends, it becomes a comedy engine.

The good news is that players clearly still love it. Steam currently shows Very Positive recent reviews, with 88% positive from 551 recent reviews, and Very Positive English reviews, with 85% positive from over 25,000 English reviews. It also has a strong indie-party pedigree, including awards and nominations such as SXSW Gamer’s Voice Multiplayer Award 2016 and Indie Game of the Show EGX 2015.

Graphics:* 82%
Sound:* 78%
Gameplay:* 83%
Fun:* 94%

Overall score: 84.3%

Verdict: A chaotic, wobbly, gloriously stupid multiplayer brawler that is at its best with friends, snacks, and no concern for personal dignity. Not precise, not deep in the traditional fighter sense, but absolutely brilliant at turning every match into slapstick violence with jelly people.