Super Crush K.O.

Super Crush K.O. is a very colorful and fun platform brawler. With several different enemies, a cute plot and strong women characters who are full of personality, you won't want to put this game down until you can see your name high up in the Leaderboards.

Super Crush KO is an incredibly fun, if short and easy, character action game. It’s as ridiculous and over the top as its contemporaries. Combat has a lot of depth, while remaining simple enough for beginners to pick up or veterans to enjoy.

Super Crush KO is a great brawler-shooter. Vertex Pop has managed to create a game that feels fresh right until the very end, and one that offers a lot of replayability. There's some good humour within to deal with the absurd situation Karen finds herself in, and the gameplay just flows very well. Super Crush KO is an early highlight for 2020.

Great fusion of brawling and shooting in 2D environments. A clear action gem, even if the visuals are an acquired taste and the amount of content is a bit on the short side.

“Dense and tense” is how I would characterize this game. Not dense because of the amount of content in the game (there really isn’t too much), but by how much is happening on screen for the player to keep track of. It is tense not in story stakes or in-game punishment, but because of that internal desire to plan around these chaotic situations to avoid getting hit even just once. It is a smooth experience overall, with some nuanced gameplay wrinkles that resulted in some exasperation.

The bright and bubbly romp doesn’t last all that long⁠—there are 16 stages and four boss battles ⁠—but that also ensures Super Crush KO doesn’t outstay its welcome while encouraging some potentially tense high score battles. This is a rad game to start off 2020 with, and I hope the endearing optimism found in Vertex Pop’s second Switch game is a harbinger of the year to come.

Even if you haven’t played a Vertex Pop game before (you probably should, because they’re great!), Super Crush KO is the one you should start with. It plays like a dream thanks to responsive controls and smooth as silk gameplay. It’s an arcade brawler through and through, so combat takes the spotlight. Stringing combos is the name of the game and it feels awesome when you’ve conquered unbeatable odds without taking a single hit. It might be a bit on the short side, but man does it feel good to play. Don’t ignore Super Crush KO, it demands your attention.

If you love playing and replaying 2D beat-'em-ups for high scores, you'll get your 15 bucks' worth here and more. [Issue #45 – March/April 2020, p. 25]

Super Crush KO is a fun brawler, plain and simple. It combines punching gameplay with frenetic shooting. The game flow is excellent and leads to fast-paced strategizing. Although never becoming too difficult, one will have to be careful with some of the tougher enemies. Also, trying to rank high on the leaderboards will appeal to veterans in the genre, so the challenge comes from that. Levels and boss battles, overall, are a joy to play through. Unfortunately, the core experience is a rather short one.

Super Crush KO may look like a Saturday morning cartoon but it's one challenging and enjoyable 2D action brawler.

I honestly wasn’t expecting much from Super Crush KO, but it turned out to be a delightful surprise. This cutesy and colourful brawler lets you lose yourself in a satisfying flow state of flashy combos as you beat its hordes of alien robots into scrap. And with a fluffy cat at stake (and all of mankind, I guess), it’s all for a good cause.

Fast-paced, brawler/shooter hybrid Super Crush KO isn't very innovative. Or varied. Or demanding… and then you try to get better the best possible score at each level, and the game suddenly shows its true colours. Getting better and better is where the challenge and replayability is at. Worry not about the fact that things remain the same from beginning to end, as fighting is too damn fun for this to grow stale. Plus, Vertex Pop's indie gem has a beautiful, distinct, ultra-colourful wrapping.

While Super Crush KO isn’t perfect, it’s hard to play without a smile on your face. Brawlers aren’t usually my cup of tea, but this title is smooth, exciting, fun and a real joy to play. And it really fits perfectly on the Nintendo Switch. With a few tweaks to allow players to up the difficulty, I have no doubt that Super Crush KO will attract a passionate band of followers.

Whichever way you play, Vertex Pop has done it again. Not unlike Karen’s various food treats that power-up her move set, Super Crush KO offers short-term satisfaction but it's very sweet while it lasts. Despite the compactness of the experience, it looks great and plays even better – so what are you waiting for? Go forth and save your kitty.