Beast: Bio Exo Arena Suit Team

Beast itself is not a bad name. It is rather the subtitle that stands out as a little silly, when it comes to Oh Bibi's latest Apple Arcade title. "Bio Exo Arena Suit Team" sounds like something that came from someone who didn't think it through, and that's a bit of a shame, because the game itself is well made and well-built.

The set-up is simple. In small, tight, charming arenas, two teams go to war against each other. Each team consists of three players, and after you have accumulated enough points (which are obtained by shooting and hitting your opponents), you can activate "Beast Mode", which turns the cute little fox, pig or lizard character you control into a twelve metre tall giant robot with dual arm cannons. The robot is, of course, tough and clumsy, easy for opponents to pinpoint, but on the other hand deals up to four times as much damage as regular mech-less characters.

Beast: Bio Exo Arena Suit Team is somewhat reminiscent of Overwatch 2 with a simpler approach, specifically designed for younger players. The characters are simple, cute and very easy to play. As we all know, getting the game to feel right even when controlling your cute little "beast" with touch controls is no easy task, as most action titles usually just feel awkwardly messy with both thumbs pressed against the mobile phone screen. Oh Bibi has succeeded here. The dual virtual joysticks and how it feels when the gun (which fires automatically every time you aim at an opponent) sprays out the bullets, is the most well done part of this game. It feels excellent. It feels fun and at no point in my testing hours have I been frustrated by my big thumbs sliding over other buttons and activating features I don't want to use.

The design is lovely, too. Adorably childish in the right way with lovely characters and clear, varied arenas in which to fight. It flows well, loading times are almost non-existent and the music is good, too. During the first hour of play, each lobby is filled with stupid bots that are more than happy to stand still and let me shoot them in the head, but then it takes off, I'm matched against real players and thus encounter much tougher opposition.

Beast: Bio Exo Arena Suit Team is not a masterpiece, but thanks to the Apple Arcade exclusivity, it is completely free of microtransactions. Plus, in terms of gameplay, design, and challenge, it is a success, especially for younger players.