Super Animal Royale [Nintendo Switch] | REVIEW

I’ll admit that I have actually grown a little tired of the battle royale formula over the last few years, but there was something about Super Animal Royale that caught my eye. Maybe it’s the cute animals? Maybe it’s the top-down take on the genre? Or maybe it’s just the fact it’s another free-to-play game to sink my teeth into?

Either way, I’ve stuck a good few hours into it now, and you know what? It’s actually a fun and refreshing take on the genre that I’ve found myself quite addicted to.

Check out a gallery of screenshots down below:

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At its core, Super Animal Royale is a sixty-four player battle royale that sees players taking on the role of a cute customisable animal as they parachute down into an abandoned safari park, with the goal being to be the last animal standing. In true battle royale fashion, this is done by scouring the environment for weapons and loot, carefully navigating your surroundings to try and keep out of sight of nearby foes, and, of course, avoiding the ever-expanding hazardous skunk gas that surrounds the environment.

If you’re experienced with the battle royale genre, you’ll know exactly what to expect from the game. Super Animal Royale does introduce a few neat ideas that keeps things fresh though, with the top-down perspective being one of my favourites. After sinking a ton of hours into the likes of Call of Duty Warzone, Fortnite, and PUBG, it’s refreshing to play a battle royale game that feels wholly different; seeing all of the action from above and utilising twin-stick controls to shoot just feels really good and gives the game its own unique sense of identity. It’s all very fast-paced too, with it easy to navigate across each of the areas of the world and quickly pick off foes on your way to victory in a matter of minutes. If you die? You’ll be back in a new game soon enough.

“Seeing all of the action from above and utilising twin-stick controls to shoot just feels really good and gives the game its own unique sense of identity.”

It makes it perfect for quick pick up and play sessions, though the charming world has seen me sticking around for a few hours at a time. There’s something about Super Animal Royale’s colourful world that just made it a real treat to explore, with the variety of locations in the map adding an extra sense of unpredictability to each match. Want to get around them a bit quicker? Jump in a hamster ball or ride upon the back of an emu. It’s wacky stuff that’ll keep a smile on your face the more you play, whilst the variety of weaponry gives players plenty of cool ways to take down their enemies.

The only thing that took a little getting used to was the fact that items and enemies aren’t visible unless they’re in your line of sight, with the environment used cleverly to mask things from the player behind shadows. It caught me out a few times during my first few hours with the game where I’d think I was safe, only to have an enemy pop out at me – it ramps up the tension of the experience and means you have to be wary when exploring. It adds a fair bit of tactical nuance to the game too, and believe me, there’s nothing better than silently waiting for players and catching them off-guard.

“There’s something about Super Animal Royale’s colourful world that just made it a real treat to explore, with the variety of locations in the map adding an extra sense of unpredictability to each match.”

There are plenty of customisation options in-game too, with new items unlocking the more you play. You’ll get different animal species, colours, and costumes as you progress, whilst those who want to earn a little bit more can purchase the Battle Pass or the in-game currency to grab extras. Whilst Super Animal Royale is free-to-play, you’ll never feel like you need to sink real cash in unless you REALLY want to get some of the extra customisation options – you could easily put hours into the game and unlock plenty of cool stuff without spending a penny, though.

Super Animal Royale can be played either solo, as a duo, or a four-man (I mean ‘animal’) squad, so there are plenty of options in place depending on your playstyle. I’ve never struggled to find a full sixty-four player game either, with the community certainly staying strong over its first month of release. I have encountered a few sketchy incidents where lag has seen players evade my shots or even catch me out with some of their own, but it has mostly been a consistent experience as far as the connection is concerned.

It’s just a really fun game. It keeps things simple in design, but there’s a surprising amount of tactical nuance to be found thanks to the fact that you can only see what’s in your line of sight. It’d be easy to dismiss Super Animal Royale as just another free-to-play game on first glance, but there’s a lot more to it than just cute animals shooting each other (though there is a LOT of that too).

Developer: Pixile
Publisher: Modus Games
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Website: https://animalroyale.com/