Duke it out with your friends in Battle Slimes, a local multiplayer arcade brawler

Battle Slimes ($1.99) by Dodreams Ltd. is an intense multiplayer arena brawler arcade game that will keep you and your friends coming back for more. If you enjoy fast-paced games like Super Crate Box and Spell Sword, but wanted to kick it up a notch, then Battle Slimes is the perfect fix on-the-go.

Remember the good old days of gaming, where there wasn’t any online play and multiplayer was just done locally on a single console? While it’s certainly not as convenient as online play, it definitely lead to some awesome gatherings with friends or family. And now with our iPhones and iPads, we can have portable multiplayer chaos, though I’m pretty sure that it’s better on the large screens of iPads versus the iPhones. I heard of Battle Slimes a while back, and was eager to give it a try myself after I saw a trailer for it.

Battle Slimes features a beautiful retro look, complete with the 16-bit graphics that you’ll remember if you grew up back in the ’90s. The four different arenas are bright, colorful, and lush, filled with plenty of detail, though you may not be able to appreciate all of it during the hectic battles. Each of the four differently colored slimes has their own distinctive facial expressions, adding some charm and personality to the game. Animations are super smooth, and the chiptune soundtrack is a musical delight to the ears.

The rounds in Battle Slimes can be customized to your liking before starting. You can choose whether to battle against people in person or face off with the computer, and each battle can be from two to four players at once. The game has four different arenas to pick from, ranging from the basic forest level to an industrial environment, to ancient ruins, or even a pyramid level with sand that can slow you down. The battles can be one of two different modes: time (60 seconds) or life (five hearts). And the final option is the toggle for power-up items, which can change the tide of the battle in your favor, or the opponents.

With these settings in mind, Battle Slimes reminds me a bit of Super Smash Bros., except it is super simplified (good or bad depending on how you see it) and retro. Each slime moves forward automatically and shoots out little blobs in front of them in timed intervals — all the player needs to do is help the slimes jump, which is done with a single button. When slimes fall off the bottom, they just loop back to the top of the screen. To earn points, you have to stomp on the other slimes or hit them with your blobs to stun them briefly. When you are stunned, you won’t be able to do anything for a few moments, and you lose a point. When time runs out or there is only one slime standing, the game ends and a winner is determined.

Since the focus of Battle Slimes is on local multiplayer, there is no Game Center integration for leaderboards or achievements, and you can’t battle others online. Fortunately, this is a fun and chaotic little game that you can pick up and play anywhere when you have a few moments to spare. But if you are going to play with three other people, I recommend an iPad, or maybe an iPhone 6 Plus — I can’t imagine playing four player mode on my iPhone 6, as it’s just too crowded.

While this game may be too simple for some, I still found it enjoyable and a fun way to pass the time. The graphics are a nice throwback, the music is fun and quirky, and the one-touch controls make it the perfect mobile game.

If you’re looking for a fun multiplayer arcade brawler to check out, then I recommend picking up Battle Slimes. You can get it on the App Store as a universal download for $1.99.