Action-brawlers are becoming more and more common, as evidenced by the arrival of Battle Crush. NCSoft initially released the game on PC in 2023, then on Nintendo Switch and mobile in June 2024, bringing the game – and the chaos that comes with it – to new platforms. The matches are incredibly quick for what is essentially a battle royale, as you and 29 other players have just eight minutes to be the last player standing.
However, for those who prefer to face off mono-a-mono, there’s a 1v1 duel option, too. You can also opt to be part of a team rather than brave the arena alone. Well, we decided to get a better look at Battle Crush, from what inspired it to what makes the Switch a good home for it and how often you can expect new content and updates.
There’s no one better to get this information from than the developers, so that’s what we did. We caught up with Battle Crush’s lead producer, Hyungsuk Kang, and the first thing we wanted to know about was the inspirations behind the game.
It’s fair to say that Battle Crush does have a unique selling point in that it takes pieces of multiple genres, such as Action games and Battle Royale games, and mixes them together to form one madcap match, so what exactly inspires it? Well, it turns out it’s a very popular series of games, as Kang tells us, “We intended to adapt the combat core and philosophy of Super Smash Bros. to the current era.”
However, to help Battle Crush stand out from the crowd, the team decided to “add more unpredictability to the gameplay” by incorporating “the PvP format of the battle royale and used a top-down camera perspective from MOBA games to show multiple characters.” In essence, NCSoft wanted to create a simple yet fun game, something the team did well, giving “a very satisfying result.”
If you’ve played the game, you might notice something familiar about the characters, particularly if you enjoy Greek and Roman mythology. That’s no accident, as the team chose “the widely beloved theme” to make the game enjoyable to a wider audience – we can certainly see how using these mythoi would help, being huge fans ourselves. As for the design of the characters and the game as a whole, the team “pursued bold, cartoonish exaggeration, simple forms, and variations on stereotypical concepts” to give Battle Crush a “unique and edgy” design.
Should you be after a suggestion on which character to use, Kang’s is Freyja, with the lead producer telling us, “I like how her outwardly gentle, yet inwardly strong personality is reflected in her combat playstyle.” So, if you want to dive into Battle Crush but don’t know who to start with, there’s a solid suggestion for you.
Beyond the Greek and Roman-inspired characters, the team “are also exploring the possibility of introducing characters from various mythological universes.” Kang also claims they’re thinking about “collaborating with other IPs to bring in crossover characters.” A lot of games bring in special characters from other IPs, but we’d be lying if we said our minds don’t immediately turn to games like Fortnite when thinking about collaborations like this – we can’t wait to see which IPs end up in Battle Crush.
Now we know more about the design choices, characters, and inspirations for Battle Crush, we can’t help but turn our attention to the platforms it calls home, and it turns out the Nintendo Switch was a platform contender from “the early stage of development” according to Kang, reminiscing on “how thrilled the developers were when we first got to play Battle Crush on Nintendo Switch.”
As Battle Crush is now available on both mobile and console, we couldn’t help but wonder if players can expect different game modes that cater to a console audience, as things like longer matches are much more feasible on the platform and are a frequent occurrence among some of the best Switch multiplayer games. Kang explains that the team is “discussing modes that are more familiar to console users, especially Nintendo Switch users. However, these modes are not designed for longer and more in-depth play sessions.”
As for the mobile release, the team “didn’t encounter significant difficulties” as the game is designed for mobile play. Kang tells us, “We aimed to ensure that the depth of gameplay was maintained on both console and mobile platforms.” If the fan reaction is anything to go by, Kang and the team have achieved this.
According to Kang, “Many have responded positively to the art style and the fun of the game,” which is hardly surprising to us given that Battle Crush is chaotic in all the best ways, drawing from various genres. Of course, the team is continuously listening to feedback, aiming to “evolve and improve” with each passing season. Speaking of which, Kang tells us that “every ten weeks, new seasons are introduced with new additional characters and a variety of skins.” Naturally, the aforementioned game modes are also due to appear in different seasons as and when they’re ready for players to enjoy.
Since Battle Crush has a lot of young players, we couldn’t help but wonder if there are any systems in place to help protect the younger audience. As much as we all hate it, there’s no denying the possibility of negative interactions in online games, but Kang tells us that doesn’t seem to be an issue for Battle Crush, explaining that the game “offers quick chat communication instead of text chat. Using the quick chat feature allows for convenient communication regardless of the language spoken, and it seems to make everyone more polite and respectful.”
Well, we hope that this gives you a greater insight into Battle Crush. Remember, the game is on iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch if you want to give it a go. Or, you can check out our guides to the best games like PUBG and the best Switch games to see what else you can play right now.