Simplicity can be a blessing and a curse. Roombattle is a 1-6 player arena brawler where everyone plays as a Roomba-style vacuum cleaner. Each player has a pointed object on their face, and three balloons on their rear. The goal is to pop the other players’ balloons and be either the last one standing or the player who pops the most balloons. The simplicity makes it easy for anyone to pick up and play, but it also means Roombattle cannot rest on its laurels for long.
Battles can be filled with bots of three difficulties, and each battle arena is either a room from a house or a public location like a museum, or resturant. The rooms are crammed full of objects like dinner plates that spill and slow down movement, freezers that freeze you, or photocopiers that suck players in and warp you over to a different copier on the other side of the screen. Most rooms have breakable windows or furniture, altering the playing field as rounds progress. Roombattle is focused on short battles as everyone only has three lives, and whilst there are infinite boosts (that require a quick recharge), sudden death will ring in if a battle takes around 45 seconds. When that happens, the light fades, and a timer ticks down to eliminate anyone not still inside the light. It’s very Fortnite, but it works to keep the game’s pace fluid and frantic.
Alongside the last man standing and balloon modes is a glitch mode. This adds a different challenge each round, such as black and white filters or removing all movement, turning the game into a boosting snooker battle. You can’t decide on the next glitch, so it’s fun to cycle through them and see what is thrown your way. Expect the bomb mode to be over very quickly when everyone has access to powerful explosives!
Roombattle also comes with a selection of minigames that repurpose the game design into different variations on the battle theme, or games altogether. These can be played separately as a points match (best of 5, for example) or used as minigames to break up multiple rounds of the main game, offering a random powerup advantage for the winner to use for the next main arena battle. Some minigames are close to the main modes, like having cactus fall from the sky, making a lot of the screen a danger zone. Others are chaotic point-to-point collectable battles like capturing gas canisters with your hoover. There is a true top-down race minigame, and a Fall Guys / Mario Party variant of a collapsing platform to shove players off of. The most interesting involves a rhythm game, but you have to steer to the right symbol before the rhythm chart needs it. These minigames are fun and very welcome, as they add a different layer of interest and variation to what is a fun but streamlined experience.
Whilst I haven’t tried online multiplayer, the local set-up is decent, and the AI on hard mode is a decent challenge. Roombattle works best in short, 15-minute blasts. Otherwise, the simplicity can make the game lose its appeal and charm. That is because matches are often over within 30 seconds, so players cycle through the content very quickly. There is a decent amount of customisation elements to play with and unlock through currency earned by playing the game. I wouldn’t grind for it, though, as the currency is earned quickly enough through general play. When limited to short, intense blasts, Roombattle shines best. It’s here for a good time, not a long time, and that’s ok with me.
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