Bangbang Rabbit! Review

Furry Fury and Fluffy Scuffles

Picture, if you will, the greatest showdown of all time. Surely you’ve envisioned a legion of cat demons waging war against a lone rabbit. If so, welcome to the world of Bangbang Rabbit! by X-land. This fast-paced, action-packed fighting game for Android plops a weapon in your furry paws and pits you against wave after wave of powerful foes. Hack, slash, smash and punch back the onslaught coming at you from all sides. 

Bangbang Rabbit! is set in a world of beautiful 2D artwork reminiscent of the indie smash-hit Hollow Knight. You play as a skilled rabbit who escaped a cat demon raid that destroyed your village long ago. Now revenge is due. Equip a weapon and some gear in the menu and jump into the Adventure tab to unleash your fluffy fury. Each stage of the game brings you to an unfamiliar landscape with a unique story. As you proceed through each round of battle, a story prompt will come across your screen. You may either take part in the event or skip it. The prompts test your moral compass. Whether you choose to delve into caverns seeking treasure or share supplies with a weary traveler, beware the consequences. If you choose to engage with the story prompt, you’ll have a 50/50 chance of earning goodies, or you’ll wind up getting shanked by fairies and earning an ugly debuff. So, it doesn’t always pay to lend a helping hand. However, you’ll encounter a chance to recover from your missteps; typically you’ll find a rare weapon halfway through each stage. Wield it for a short time and witness your power multiply like, well, rabbits.

The Price of Power is Relatively Cheap

Every time you complete a round of combat, you get to choose a new buff. Three options will appear on your screen. When you pick one, you can either accept it as it is, or watch an ad to double its power. The ability to summon a massive carrot to decimate enemies with area damage is well worth watching an ad. Upon death, reviving yourself works similarly. Either buy back your life with game currency, watch an ad  or accept your fate. No matter your choice, you get to keep any of the gear that you collect throughout each stage.

Open your inventory in the menu to swap gear and even craft new items. Each weapon and piece of armor is upgradeable. If you have duplicates, disassemble or combine them to make new, shinier goodies. In your Magic Stone tab, you may upgrade your passive stats. Your Magic Stone acts as a talent tree, picking up new passive abilities as you progress. And speaking of passive elements, this game includes an idle feature. You’ll earn gear and currency while you’re away fighting off the cat demons of the real world. 

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

The mechanics of this game are simple. There are three buttons: left, right and your ultimate ability. Tap the directions to dash or attack in either direction. Your ultimate ability charges when you slay enemies, but it takes a while to reach full charge. When it’s ready, use it wisely. It doesn’t charge up on its own, so t’s helpful that the game will prompt you to tap a “begin” button before you engage in the first round of combat. This makes it so you aren’t caught off guard. But don’t get too attached to the button layout. Some cat demons use spells to reverse your controls. They’ll cast magic puppet strings above your head which cause your left-right controls to switch places with one another.

This Game is Hoppin’

Overall, Bangbang Rabbit! is an exciting and engaging experience with few downsides. The ads are a bit long, but luckily they are predictable and aren’t overwhelming. They give you just enough time to run to the kitchen and grab a carrot before diving back into epic warfare. X-land did an exceptional job keeping this game simple, smooth and entertaining.