Slam Land is a 2-D platforming competitive game for up to four players.  It’s like a hybrid of basketball and Super Smash Bros.  Choose from a handful of wacky characters and try to pick each other up and throw them in baskets for points.  It’s available to download on PS4, Switch, and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

Gameplay is pretty simple.  Run around with the L stick and you can jump and double jump.  When you’re near another player, press the square button to pick them up, then find a goal hole “basket” to throw them into.  If you make it in, you get a point.  Whoever gets the most points at the end, wins.

There are several different modes of play.  The Slam Tour is one big tournament where you’ll go through all the modes to declare a winner.  Or if you just want a quick single match, pick Quick Slam.  You can also play three side modes separately.  The first is Peanut.  In this mode, a peanut sits on the field, and if you pick it up, a number will appear above it and increase as you hold it.  If you can dunk the peanut, you’ll get whatever number was on it as your score, so you’ll want to hold onto it as long as you can.  The next mode is Horse.  Here, horse statues will appear in the stage, and each one has a letter that spells out HORSE.  If you can dunk all the letters and spell the word, you’ll win.  Last is Trash.  Here a bunch of trash bags appear on the playfield, and you must try and pick up and dunk as many as you can for points.  In any of these modes you can also dunk opponents for points as well.  In each mode you can also pick rules like time limit, stage, etc.

The artwork is unique, but gameplay is a little chaotic.  Controls are quick but still feel a bit loose, and it’s hard to tell who your character is because they don’t put a 1P, 2P, etc. sign on your character.  Because of this and the general chaotic nature of the game, it was hard for me to get into.  But if you are craving a Smash Bros. style multiplayer challenge, you might want to check it out anyway.

Kid Factor:

Slam Land is rated E-10 with an ESRB descriptor of Fantasy Violence.  You can pick up other players and toss them, but that’s it.  Players who get dunked or thrown off a cliff will disappear in a flash of light and then reappear on the stage via a portal soon after.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, but not necessary just to play.  Younger gamers may get frustrated with the difficulty of the CPU opponents.

Tags: Game Reviews