Ra Ra BOOM Reviews
While the main campaign is on the shorter side, and ultimately the game feels a little too easy at times, it's still a fun time and well worth checking out.
Confusion within the mechanics hold Ra Ra Boom back from being an excellent debut from developer Gylee Games, and an excellent example in its genre in its own right. From its punchy, wholehearted aesthetic to its ambitious combat, there was tons of potential here. Unfortunately, while I still had a fun time, that potential wasn't met as I ended up just sticking to the beat ‘em up basics to get through, ignoring the bells and whistles almost entirely after growing tired of wrestling with them.
Ra Ra Boom has style and ambition, but style alone can’t make up for undercooked gameplay that never fully clicks. Combat is rough around the edges, the lane system just feels ‘there’ and the story lacks any real staying power. Ra Ra Boom feels like the type of game that presents well in motion and in screenshots but the fun starts to waiver the more time you spend with it.
A side-scrolling beat 'em up in which it's feasible to simply shoot your enemies rather than actually punch and kick them into submission, Ra Ra BOOM stands out in what is inexplicably becoming a crowded genre. It has some issues that bring it down, though, including poor balancing and some technical woes on PS5 Pro.
Ra Ra BOOM is a high-energy, upbeat beat 'em up game with a vibrant look and ninja cheerleaders that you control through nine different stages.
If your feelings about this genre are anything other than negative and you like what you see, what you’ve got here is an incredibly solid beat-em-up with a fun cast, a great soundtrack, wonderful presentation, and plenty of replay value. And that’s without getting into the fact that it’s an absolutely perfect game for sitting down with a friend or two as a team venture.
Ra Ra BOOM is a fun, albeit short, time. This fits the bill if you want a fairly short and entertaining game that you can play in 1 session with a few friends. This might not be for you if you're looking for a game with depth and replay value. Steam Deck performance is a little disappointing. We can mostly maintain 40 FPS, and the game is fully playable, but some performance issues and UI issues detract from what could be a great experience.
Ra Ra BOOM has some weaknesses. Its story doesn’t really connect, and the melee combat lacks the sort of flow that the best games in the genre manage. Still, its twist on genres, which combines various gameplay styles into one interesting experience, is largely successful and makes it worth a look for beat ‘em up fans.
Ra Ra Boom is a fun, colourful scrolling brawler/shooter that has plenty of charm and good replay value. Some small niggles in the combat and early game power levels aside, this is one for those looking for some couch co-op brawling good times.
Ra Ra BOOM is a beat ‘em up and a short experience that doesn’t ask too much of you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t draw interest beyond the great introduction to what could’ve been a group of characters that people started to cosplay as and look forward to wherever they showed up next. The game even has an odd moment where it pokes fun at itself, which feels entirely unearned. The game also has a number of moments that feel like a cutscene or animation of a boss terrorizing the ladies or lurking in the environment are missing, breaking the rule of “show, don’t tell”. As a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mark, I should’ve been ecstatic when I encountered what was effectively an entire level devoted to the franchise, only to feel nothing upon completing the level.