[Review] Radical Rabbit Stew – Nintendo Switch

Radical Rabbit Stew
Nintendo Switch

Developed By : Pugstorm
Published By : Sold Out
Category : Puzzle, Action
Release Date : July 16, 2020

Radical Rabbit Stew is a perfect fit for the Switch. Its short levels are perfect for when you only have a few minutes to play, and the crisp 2D sprites look fantastic in docked mode. This isn’t a game that you’ll be playing for a particularly long time, but it’s a fun time while it lasts.

The arcadey nature of Radical Rabbit Stew means that there isn’t much focus on story. As the cleaning chef of a legendary space diner, you must save your friends from the rabbit queen, who has kidnapped them out of jealousy. There are some brief cutscenes every now and then, though you’ll be spending most of your time smacking rabbits instead.

Each area in the game is split up into bite-sized levels, with the goal of each regular level being to launch rabbits into spaceships that look like giant pots of stew. You’re initially kitted out with a wooden spoon, which can knock back rabbits in a straight line. Early levels are designed to teach the basic mechanics of Radical Rabbit Stew, so there’s not a whole lot to worry about.

Things get a little more complicated as more gimmicks and abilities start to appear. Springs make an appearance early on, letting you bounce rabbits around the level. These are never used for anything too crazy, though you can launch yourself with them once you unlock the silver spoon. Said spoon also acts as a powerful wide ranged attack that can launch rabbits that are across gaps, or move heavy rabbits that the wooden spoon can’t.

By the time you make it to the later worlds, you’ll have ran into a lot of different level gimmicks. Breakable blocks, buttons, curved surfaces that rabbits can slide around. Radical Rabbit Stew will always offer up something new after a few levels have passed, combining with earlier mechanics to create some unique puzzles. Even with the increasing complexity, completing the main objective of each level is never overly difficult. You get more health as you progress through the story, and most levels are set up to give you multiple chances if you do something wrong.

Collecting all the coins in each level is where the true challenge lies. Many of them are hidden behind optional areas in a level, which are often much harder than just beating the level normally. They’re usually not insanely hard, so most can be gathered after a few tries, but this does add some extra gameplay to what is otherwise a short game. The only part of the game that doesn’t really work is the boss fights. While they do offer up a different style of level compared to the more puzzle focused stages, they’re often too simplistic. At least each boss is fairly short, so you can get back to the puzzles in no time.

There are a couple of other modes included in the game, though none of them are very substantial. There a local multiplayer mode for up to four players, where you complete for the most points. Nothing awful, but there’s not much there to keep you invested compared to other multiplayer Switch games. The level creator has a bit more potential, allowing you to design your own puzzles. Unfortunately, unlike the PC version which has Steam workshop support, there’s no way to share levels with your friends.

Rounding out what is generally a solid package is the game’s presentation. Radical Rabbit Stew features some of the nicest sprites on the Switch, and each area has its own visually distinct theme. There are times when the amount of effects on screen can be a but extreme, especially on levels with lots of rabbits and interactable gimmicks. However, it rarely gets in the way of puzzle solving. Paired up with the solid visuals is a catchy chiptune soundtrack that perfectly captures the goofy setting of Radical Rabbit Stew.

Despite its brief runtime, Radical Rabbit Stew is an enjoyable game that tries to keep things fresh at all times. Hopefully some more levels are added later on, as there’s definitely room for tougher puzzles.