Super Animal Royale – Review

Although Super Animal Royale has been kicking around on PC in Early Access since 2018, it was only last month when the “full” version debuted, alongside the PlayStation and Switch versions of the game. We were initially sceptical, given that the free-to-play battle royale market is oversaturated, thanks to the success of genre titans like PUBG and Fortnite. Still, there was something about Super Animal Royale’s cute animal player avatars that drew us in. After having spent some time with the Switch version of Pixile’s top-down multiplayer title, we’re now ready to deliver our verdict. Does Super Animal Royale hold its own or is this a battle royale you wouldn’t want to be caught up in?

Story

While there isn’t a real narrative present in Super Animal Royale, the game attempts to flesh out its world somewhat through its setting. The island that the bloody deathmatches take place on is host to a (now abandoned) safari park -which explains the various species running amuck there. We imagine that any future seasons may offer various “themes”, as is typical with games like this, though whether or not that means the introduction of narrative elements isn’t sure of course.

Graphics

With its Funko Pop-like animal designs and soft colors, Super Animal Royale succeeds in making essentially gruesome deaths look adorable. There’s no actual blood involved, which makes sense as the game is trying to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible. We understand the need for the simplistic graphical style, as the game is essentially connecting 64 players from around the world. Naturally, you don’t want a game’s performance to suffer because the visuals are too taxing. Even so, we noticed lag and stutters more often than we would have wanted, with the frame rate dropping below an acceptable level occasionally. Of course, the cause of these performance drops isn’t always clear, as a lot depends on the setups of other players, but it’s annoying enough to mention here. The game continuously displays your ping in the top right corner too, so if there is an issue with your own connection, it should be fairly easy to spot. Things are fairly zoomed out, so we recommend playing Super Animal Royale on as big of a screen as possible, as it can be difficult to make things out -especially text. On the plus side, when the game runs smoothly, it looks fantastic. This is a case where simple visuals make for a more enjoyable experience than highly detailed graphics; an example of how “less is more” can work.

Sound

There isn’t a whole lot that can be said about Super Animal Royale’s soundscape. There is no voice acting present, and the music is generic and forgettable. This is one of the rare cases where it doesn’t really matter though, as the game itself is exciting and tense enough. On top of that, if you’re focused on surviving the cute critter onslaught, you want as few distractions as possible. It’s far more important to be able to hear your opponent coming, rather than having a catchy tune playing in the background.

Gameplay

The title pretty much gives away what Super Animal Royale is about: it’s a battle royale game that sees adorable animals take on one another in bloody multiplayer matches until a single player is left standing. The game isn’t shy about taking inspiration from its direct competitors. When a match starts, you’re dropped on the game’s island arena from a flying bus, Fortnite-style. The main difference is that the game is presented in 2D, from a top-down perspective, whereas most of the battle royal behemoths opt for presenting their game as a 3D 3rd-person game. Super Animal Royale is free-to-play and up to 64 players can duke it out during a match, with crossplay support.

If you’ve ever played a battle royale game, you know what to expect. After you’re dropped on the island, you’ll need to start looking for equipment and take down any opponents that cross your path. Camping on the outskirts of the map while you’re waiting for the player count to drop isn’t an option either, as a cloud of ‘skunk gas’ is slowly enveloping the island, forcing players to move towards the center. There is a ‘fog-of-war’ style mechanic present as well and you’re not able to see items or enemies that aren’t in your line of sight, making for a rather tense experience despite the game’s cute outward appearance. The twin-stick controls are smooth, making for a game that is satisfying to play.

Getting to grips with the game is simple enough, although we should point out that you can expect to get your ass kicked during your first few games as more experienced players will take you out before you finish dipping your toes into the water. The good thing is that the game seemingly has a thriving player base, so you won’t have to wait long to enter the fray again after you meet your untimely demise. We found that we typically spent under a minute in the game’s lobby before we were in another match with 63 other players. This applies not just to the single-player mode but also to those where you team up with other players. The latter is actually the mode we preferred, perhaps because we weren’t dying as often, though a lot depended on how competent our other team members were.

Overall, Super Animal Royale‘s gameplay is fun and addictive, but it doesn’t break any new ground. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as what’s present here is solid, but if you go in expecting this game to show a glimpse into the future of the battle royale genre, you might end up feeling disappointed. It’s fast-paced and chaotic, but it’s not something we’ve never seen before. This of course begs the question: why should I go for Super Animal Royale when there are a plethora of other options to choose from in the genre? Well, quite simply: because the barrier of entry is so ridiculously low. You can dip your toes into the water for free, and it’s super easy to get stuck into a match. Given that it doesn’t feel like a pay-to-win title, the question isn’t “why should I give this a try?” but instead “why not?”.

We should, of course, address how Super Animal Royale is monetized. It’s a free-to-play title, but keeping servers up and running and developing new content still costs money after all. It’s difficult to strike the right balance here as a developer: you don’t want players to feel like they’re a walking wallet but you also want to turn a profit. To Super Animal Royale’s credit, the game doesn’t feel like it’s trying to squeeze money from its players at every single turn. For the most part, the paid stuff is purely cosmetic, although there are some limited-time items up for grabs and in-game currency can also be spent on premium season passes, which ensure better rewards compared to players that eschew spending cash on the game. On the other hand though, there wasn’t a loot box in sight, which is something we can only applaud.

Conclusion

Despite the performance issues, which seem to be tied to how stable the online connection with other players is, there is plenty of fun to be had here, especially when teaming up with other players. The fast pace of the game means that there is little time to be frustrated over losing a match, as that energy is much better channeled in a new round. We’re typically not fans of free-to-play titles, as they more often than not feel aggressively monetized, but Super Animal Royale is a rare exception. This is a free-to-play title that we actually recommend giving a shot, as there is plenty of fun to be had here without having to spend a single penny.

SebastiaanRaats

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