Brief Battles

Brief Battles is a raucous little game that provides another option for Switch players looking for some decent four player, local multiplayer party times. It's easy to pick up and - owing to that clever mix of pant-powers, environmental obstacles and unique style of traversal - has a level of depth that introduces a pleasing amount of tactics for dedicated players. It's also priced really reasonably so is well worth taking a punt on if you're regularly inundated with friends wanting to get some couch co-op action on the go.

I wish Brief Battles was more fleshed out because it has a lot of potential and its core gameplay is surprisingly fun.

Brief Battles has some interesting ideas that could have made for a solid platform fighter, but this one needed way more ironing out. Despite a few good times to be had, the game ultimately doesn’t come close to meeting the bar set by other great indie platform fighters. It definitely has its moments, like the rush of satisfaction that follows landing a ground pound from way high up, but your time is better spent with same-genre titles like TowerFall, Duck Game, and Retimed. Promised free updates may redeem this title down the line with better modes and more carefully crafted arenas, but for now, clunky menus and long load times make an obstacle out of even setting up Brief Battles, and excessive stage hazards, wonky controls, and trite objectives mean that the prize for navigating those menus isn’t worth it.