Crash Team Rumble is a fundamentally flawed game, and I don’t think there’s anything that can be done to save it. I’ve already explained that it’s kind of a MOBA, but without any of the things that make MOBAs fun, and our own Stacey Henley echoed those sentiments in her review when she called it “the most basic version of a MOBA [with] nothing added on top”. I think that it’s unlikely that this $30 live-service game with an uninspired battle pass and weak gameplay is going to catch on, but there’s one aspect I hope survives this misguided endeavor: Crash can freakin’ move, boi.
As a lifelong Crashhead (Crashnut? Bandisciple?) I can speak with some authority on the topic of movement in Crash games. What made the originals so appealing was how precise you needed to be while platforming. Originally, Crash didn’t have much momentum, which allowed for a greater air control, so a lot of the challenge revolved around the perfect execution of jumps. With practice, you would become more comfortable with the physics and courses, an expression of skill that led many players to attempt to complete levels as fast as possible.
Crash Bandicoot: Warped canonized speed running with the Time Relics, which has since become a staple of the series. Warped also loosened up Crash’s movements. While Crash Bandicoot 2 started the trend with the slide attack and slide jump, Warped added moves like the double jump and super spin that created even more combo options that helped Crash maintain momentum. These new techniques opened up Crash’s movement to be more expressive than ever before.
Crash went through an experimental phase following Warped, appearing in a lot of games that introduced one-and-done mechanics. There isn’t much to say about the ‘Crash feel’ until we get to Crash Bandicoot 4, which introduced a couple of important techniques, like the triple-spin, the wall run, and the Quantum Mask abilities.
Toys for Bob, the team behind both Crash Bandicoot 4 and Crash Team Rumble, has evolved the series in a far more meaningful way than any of the non-Naughty Dog developers that came before, and that includes what it’s done with Crash Team Rumble. As a PvP game, Rumble demands the tightest controls and the most freedom of movement Crash has ever had, and in this one aspect it totally delivers.
The first thing you’ll notice when you get control of Crash during the tutorial is how whippy the camera feels. The way it balances sharp acceleration and smooth deceleration helps you be incredibly accurate with your movements. Crash has rarely had a free-turning camera like this, so it's impressive how well Toys for Bob nailed it on the first try. I don’t know another 3D platformer that has camera controls that feel this tight, but it adds a lot of energy and control to movement, which is important for a game like this.
Then there’s Crash’s controls, which feel better than they ever have before. The movement is designed around the game’s combat, which involves a lot of chasing and running away, and what the devs have come up with feels incredible. Locomotion is both incredibly sensitive and precise, which allows you to dodge, juke, and cut off your opponents as you chase each other around the arena. Crash can chain together slides, air dashes, and triple spins to boost himself in any direction and try to confuse his opponents with unpredictable movement. He doesn’t just move, this boy shmoves.
There’s a skill gap here that you rarely see outside of Smash, and Crash can do some ridiculous things in a skilled player’s hands. You have so much control over every little movement he makes that good players will look like they’re faster than everyone else. If Rumble had been Crash Team Sports, I think it could have been incredible. I would love to see a 3D platformer starring Crash that uses this movement, and I hope Rumble’s inevitable failure doesn’t mean the end of Toys for Bob’s involvement with Crash (or existence, knowing Activision). It may not be Crash 5, but this still feels like an important milestone for the way Crash Bandicoot plays.