Basement Crawl May Be the Battiest Title on PS4 Yet

If there’s been any criticism of the PlayStation 4, it’s that its launch lineup is a little bit familiar. Games like Killzone: Shadow Fall and inFAMOUS: Second Son may look great, but they’re not necessarily doing anything different – other than pushing unimaginable numbers of polygons, anyway. Fortunately, that’s where Basement Crawl sticks out like a mad clown.

The multiplayer maze game – which is inspired by classics such as Bomberman and Spy vs. Spy – sees you deploying traps in competitive arenas in order to unsettle your foes. The concept sounds pretty simple on paper, but the title’s Twisted Metal-esque art style imbues it with a murderous undertone that sets it apart from its cartoony influences.

Indeed, with playable characters including crash-test dummies and possessive bears, developer Bloober Team is shooting straight for the heart of hardcore gamers – and that’s something that it aims to reflect in the release's gameplay, too. “Think of well-balanced, old-school fighting titles – if you are new, you can mash buttons randomly and have fun, but good players will always be able to show off their skills,” wrote creative director Peter Bielatowicz on the PlayStation Blog.

The game will support eight-player online deathmatches and four-player local multiplayer. There’ll also be a single player campaign featuring bots, but there’s no word if there’ll be any narrative at all. Still, with the title due out around launch, we’re sure that we’ll be seeing plenty more of the demented release soon.

Bloober Team is actually working on several titles at the moment, including an A-Men sequel for the PlayStation 3 and Vita, as well as a MOBA called Deathmatch Village. “We are developers focused on Sony’s platform,” noted Bielatowicz. “Feedback from the community is invaluable to us.” So, what do you think? Let us (and the studio) know in the comments section below.