Super Bomberman R

Genre: Arcade / Party Game

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local), 1-8 Competitive (Local, Online)

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Review:

Super Bomberman R is the Switch entry in the long-running series of Arcade/Party games where players bomb their way through an enclosed, maze-like stage, trying to blast away opponents while avoiding the blasts themselves.

Unlike some previous games to bear the Bomberman title (such as the single-player-focused Bomberman Hero or the “what the heck were they thinking!?” dark and gritty re-imagining Bomberman: Act Zero), Super Bomberman R sticks pretty closely to the series formula, retaining the series’ signature cartoony presentation and simple gameplay and presenting both with a dash of 3D to make things interesting.

Unfortunately, while the cartoony graphics in this game do look nice, they also interfere with the gameplay, with all of the nice little details and lighting and shadow effects making the game nicer to look at, but harder to look at and determine at a glance what a given part of the arena is. If I have to take a moment to discern if a space is a breakable block, an unbreakable block, or an open space that can be walked through, that’s a huge problem. The same goes for when I have to look at a space to see if it’s on a different level and I need to get there via a ramp.

The game’s problems don’t end there, either. Where other entries in the series have let you customize every aspect of game matches, here the option menus are a lot more stingy with what you can change, and the game has a lot of content locked behind coin purchases that need to be made with game progression. It’s better than microtransactions, I guess, but it still feels really stingy after earlier games.

Finally, there’s online play. Let me be clear here – this game was a Nintendo Switch launch title, and the game has now been out for nearly three years as I write this. There is absolutely no reason that it should be having problems online. And yet, the game still suffers from problems with input lag even now.

Perhaps the most insulting thing about this game is its price tag – for this mediocre experience that pales in comparison to previous games in the series, Konami is still, three years later, asking you to fork over $50 for this game. Hell, with all of this game’s flaws, I would say that $10 would be a steep price to ask, but $50 is just disgusting.

It’s sad, because the core formula that made the Bomberman series great to begin with is still buried somewhere in Super Bomberman R under the mountain of problems this game has. But there is absolutely no reason you should try to look for it here – this is a sub-par version of the game already, and the fact that even three years later Konami is still trying to charge a premium price for it should be taken as a sign that they absolutely do not want your money.

tl;dr – Super Bomberman R is the latest in a long-running series of Arcade/Party games. However, the game is plagued with problems, like laggy online play, a lack of options, and a visual presentation that detracts from the gameplay. Yet its biggest flaw is that three years later, and even with all of these problems, they’re still trying to charge you $50 for this thing when it’s debatable if it’s worth one-tenth of that price. Do not waste your money on this game.

Grade: D

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