Godzilla vs. Kong: Epic Kaiju Brawl Review

Temple Surfers

The word “epic” has several definitions, one of them being “heroic or grand in scale.” Godzilla vs. Kong: Epic Kaiju Brawl is, unfortunately, epic in name only. The rest of this action arcade game is woefully plain. Published by WIGO Studio, even long-time fans of the popular kaiju will find nothing enjoyable here.

Godzilla vs. Kong: Epic Kaiju Brawl borrows mechanics from other popular mobile games and dulls them down so they’re no longer interesting. You’re put in the shoes of Kong, the king of Skull Island, and your goal is to track down Godzilla, the king of the monsters, and challenge him for the throne. It’s not as interesting as it sounds. The actual tracking down of Godzilla is done in the style of a mobile runner game, like Temple Run or Subway Surfers.

But, unlike those iconic games of the early and mid-2010s, there’s no risk in this runner. Like Subway Surfers, there are obstacles along your path. However, unlike Subway Surfers, when Kong runs into these obstacles, he destroys them. While that makes sense considering the strength of the character, it removes any tension from the gameplay. There is no risk of the player failing. If you run into an obstacle, it doesn’t matter. It begs the question: If these obstacles don’t truly serve a purpose, why are they here?

Mediocre Kaiju Brawl

Once you track Godzilla down, you face off against the King of Monsters in the dullest kaiju battle in recorded history. Once Kong and Godzilla are face-to-face, both characters get health bars. The player must defeat Godzilla before Kong loses all of his health. If you were hoping this is where the game might get interesting, sorry to burst your bubble. Combat doesn’t go beyond “tap the screen to punch.” You’re essentially tapping the screen until Godzilla’s health runs out. Again, there’s no tension.

Godzilla’s punches are essentially paper cuts to Kong, you can knock the King of Monsters out before he’s done with his wind-up animation. Once you defeat Godzilla and complete the level, you’re rewarded with in-game currency, which can be used to upgrade Kong’s strength and health. Doing this allows Kong to defeat Godzilla even quicker. So, once you come up against the gigantic lizard, you can knock him out in one blow. I didn’t think Godzilla vs. Kong: Epic Kaiju Brawl‘s battle system could get any more boring, but WIGO Studio found a way.

Disgraced Kings

Godzilla isn’t the boss of every level. A few of the levels have other activities, such as tapping the screen a lot to open a safe and tapping the screen at the right time to hit a high striker. Neither activity adds true variety to the gameplay and only highlights the game’s mediocrity. The environment and sound design of the game also highlight the lackluster nature of the game. The music is generic and forgettable, and the environmental design is gaudy and bare. Everything about this game feels slapped together, with no discernable care going into any element of it.

There are no real merits to Godzilla vs. Kong: Epic Kaiju Brawl. The gameplay is not engaging, the environment is dull and tasteless, and it fails to capture the epic nature of kaiju battles. If you’re a fan of Godzilla, King Kong, kaiju, or just fun games, stay away.