Boxing Champs

If you were to ask me what the best boxing game was, I'm no sure I would have an answer. Maybe Fight Night, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Ready 2 Rumble; I honestly don't know. What I do know is that the new Switch game Boxing Champs is the easiest boxing game. While other pugilism simulators want you to master the deep gameplay and watch for openings, this cheapo title from Raz Games is content with letting you flail about with reckless abandon. It's the kind of boxing game where I didn't once feel in danger of losing, and even ended my career with a flawless record of 30 KOs and zero losses. I may not know what the best boxing game is, but I sure know Boxing Champs isn't it.

Played entirely from an overhead perspective, Boxing Champs is a fast and arcade-y interpretation of the sport. You create your own character and take on the world in hopes of climbing the ranks and eventually winning a big, shiny belt. But before that happens, you'll first need to punch a couple dozen contenders in the face until they're knocked out, giving you points that can be used to upgrade the boxer. The goal is to earn your way up the leaderboard until you take on The Greatest, an intimidating foe who hasn't lost in more than 40 fights.

You take down these opponents with three different moves. You can jab, hook and uppercut with both the left and right arms. All of these strikes take a small chunk of your stamina bar, so you'll often need to hold back and block to fill up the gauge. There's also a button to mock the other fighter, just in case you want to rub it in. This is a simple game to learn with a lot of enemies that can be taken down by simple button mashing.

The problem with this game is that I've essentially explained every part of the action. You get into a bunch of fights that play out exactly the same way on identical looking levels. Most of the matches only last a minute or two and don't get out of the first round. You don't unlock new moves or use special attacks to take down the tougher boxers, because what you see is what you get. The only difference between the first fight and the last is that the harder opponent gets back up when he's knocked down.

I'm all for simple and accessible boxing games that don't take themselves too seriously, but Boxing Champs is lacking in almost every department. This is a game in desperate need of special moves and charge attacks. I'm not saying it needs fireballs or anything outlandish, but three basic attacks is not enough to hold my interest. Especially when the opponents barely put up a fight. There was never a point in the game where I feared I would lose, and that's a problem. I was able to beat thirty computer-controlled boxers in a row by almost exclusively mashing the jab button.

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It doesn't help that the modes are as limited as the gameplay. We get a straight-forward campaign, a single match exhibition and a two-player mode. There is no online multiplayer, so all the fighting is going to go down on your couch. The two-player matches are understandably more exciting than playing against the computer, but it's not enough to recommend Boxing Champs.

And since we're talking about how every part of this game is lacking, it's worth mentioning that the graphics get old after two or three fights. I was initially into the cartoony presentation, but found the overhead perspective to be limiting. All of the opponents start to blur together after a while, which is partially due to nobody having any discernable personality. They're just pixels I'm punching to get to the top. And even though the game keeps telling me that we're traveling around the country, every single ring looks exactly the same.

Sadly, sameness is the theme of Boxing Champs. It's not just that every ring looks the same, but that every fight plays out the same way. The fighters all use the same moves. The action always has the same rhythm. It's all the same, from the first fight to the last. Maybe this will appeal to somebody looking for a very simple fighting game, but after going undefeated and earning the title belt, I think I'm going to retire on top and never play this game again.