Asterix & Obelix: Slap Them All! Preview – Baby’s First Beat-‘Em-Up
A decent starting point for a kid that wants to play games and slap cartoon characters
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Asterix & Obelix: Slap Them All! is false advertising. You cannot slap either Asterix or Obelix, which is extremely disappointing. For British people of my generation, Asterix & Obelix are best known as ‘those Vikings from the French textbooks at school’ or the stars of PS2 platformers you’d find buried in the bargain bin at Morrisons. The prospect of slapping them would have made my day, but alas, non.
I know Asterix isn’t really a Viking, but do I look like someone who paid attention in French class? That ‘non’ at the end of the last paragraph? That’s a typo. Anyway, Asterix & Obelix: Slap Them All! is actually a horizontal beat-‘em-up where you play as Asterix & Obelix, changing between them at will, while you slap away at a variety of enemies.
Well, maybe ‘variety’ is pushing it. Though the preview only included a limited number of levels, the enemies seem to be generic, big, and chariot. The generic ones are pretty simple foes that you slap until they die; there’s a few different types aesthetically, and some will throw weapons rather than swing them at you, but in general they’re pretty straight forward beat-‘em-up fodder.
The big ones are just bigger versions of these, but they hit harder, take longer to go down, and are harder to avoid, so they make things a little more interesting. Chariot enemies meanwhile race across the screen and cannot be fought, only avoided. It’s just about enough variety to get by, especially since Slap Them All is clearly being specifically designed as baby’s first beat-‘em-up.
I don’t use the term ‘baby’ derisively – this game has been made for youngsters still getting into gaming and not seeking much of a challenge. For British kids who associate Asterix with French lessons, I’m not sure it’ll take off, but then is he even in French books anymore? Do they use books at all? Maybe French lessons are all taught on TikTok or in Fortnite now. In any case, Slap Them All! is a game that will rely entirely on the popularity of its characters in order to gain any traction, and as a result I expect its success will vary across different territories.
As for the gameplay itself, it’s fine. Enemy variation is fairly limited, as is combat, which features just light, heavy, and throw attacks. In keeping with its intended audience, there aren’t a lot of hyper quick button mash combos for you to pull off. The throw button however does allow you to pick up enemies and hurl them into others, seeing them bounce across the screen. You have to make your own fun here; the difficulty and level design doesn’t really provide it. Thanks to the ability to aim your throws and spin enemies around your head though, chucking people about will do the trick.
There’s not much variation between Asterix & Obelix; they move in different ways but on a functional level, it’s more like an extra life, or an extra person for player two to be.
If you’re a fan of Asterix, this might be worth checking out, but really it’s for people who are fans of Asterix and want to inflict that fate upon their children. As a solid entry level title into a niche genre known for its high difficulty, it’s probably relying entirely on people buying it as a gift rather than to play.
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/asterix-obelix-slap-them-all-preview/