The Crash Bandicoot series has been through a slew of different developers, publishers, and genres, with the latest installment turning out to be a multiplayer online battle arena called Crash Team Rumble set to release sometime this year. The newest entry in the long-running Crash Bandicoot franchise was officially announced during The Game Awards 2022, with an unsurprisingly high-energy trailer showing off some of the gameplay and a handful of the playable characters. Since then, not much else has been revealed about the upcoming title, and fans have been left to wonder how Crash Team Rumble will fit in with previous party games like Crash Team Racing.
While Crash Team Racing and Crash Team Rumble don't appear to have too much in common on the surface – one is a kart racing title from the late 90s, and the other is a new MOBA – there are still some parallels between the two. The character of Crash Bandicoot has been through multiple iterations and featured in many different games, but there are lessons developer Toys for Bob could learn from some of the older franchise titles like Crash Team Racing when it comes to capturing the magic of the series.
Crash Team Rumble Gearing Up For Launch
When it comes to Crash, players will probably mostly associate the spinning humanoid marsupial with the platformer genre. It's one of the video game industry's longest running series that's still active today, and probably one of the most well-known platformers as well. So the Crash Bandicoot series comes with a sizable legacy, but that doesn't mean developers are afraid to introduce new elements and new styles of gameplay. After releasing Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time in 2020, Toys For Bob looked at taking the series in a new direction with its next installment and announced the upcoming MOBA Crash Team Rumble.
Given that it was only announced at the end of last year, not much has been revealed about Crash Team Rumble just yet, but with a 2023 release window, fans shouldn't have too long to wait before more information is available. The team-based four-versus-four game will be an online title that pits franchise characters against each other as they compete to gather more Wumpa Fruit than the opposing team. A handful of characters have also already been confirmed for Crash Team Rumble, including Coco, Dr. Cortex, and of course Crash himself.
Inspiration From Crash Team Racing
Crash Team Rumble may be trying to do its own thing, but it still falls under the Crash Team banner. It will be the third party genre game in the Crash Bandicoot series, so some comparisons will be inevitable. However, even if the gameplay will be different, there are a few things Crash Team Rumble would do well to emulate from its predecessors. Crash Team Racing was undoubtedly inspired by Nintendo's Mario Kart, but while it could be seen as a knockoff by some, it still brought enough original ideas to the table and was a really fun and slickly designed game. The animations were funny, the mechanics were straightforward, and each character felt distinct – something Crash Team Rumble should bear in mind when setting itself apart from other MOBAs on the market.
Crash Team Rumble needs to make sure it's separating its own playable characters with unique abilities and animations, instead of presenting players with interchangeable avatars. Starting off with a handful of core characters and then letting gamers unlock more as they progress through in a similar way to Crash Team Racing would also ensure there's variety, but that gamers also have to earn it. Crash Team Racing also received some solid post-launch support, with additional maps and skins coming to the game on a regular basis - something that Crash Team Rumble should strive to replicate. Maintaining the zany, cartoonish design and energetic atmosphere of the franchise in Crash Team Rumble will be key, even if it's within the unchartered confines of a Crash Bandicoot-based MOBA.
Crash Team Rumble is set to release in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.