What STAB STAB STAB! is
STAB STAB STAB! is a physics-based couch multiplayer fighting game where everyone plays as an explosive fleshbird with a razor sharp beak. The whole point is simple: stab until someone pops. Combat is visceral and physics-driven, so hits send bodies tumbling and the arena gets messy fast. There are 12 unique and deadly arenas to fight across, each with its own layout to learn and use. Pickups litter the arenas: wings, spider legs, tumors, and other mutations that change how your bird moves and fights, so every round can feel different depending on what you grab.
Playing together as a group
This is a local multiplayer game for up to 8 players, with both controller and keyboard/mouse input supported, so a room full of friends can plug in and start stabbing. There is no online multiplayer, so everyone needs to be in the same place. Two modes are on offer. In versus mode you battle it out against each other until the popping starts. In survival mode the group teams up against an unending horde of mindless cronenbirds, which shifts the mood from free-for-all to holding the line together. If you are short on humans, AI players with adjustable difficulty can fill the gaps or give you a warm-up before your friends arrive.
Before you start
Expect a short learning curve around the physics: momentum matters, knockback sends you where you did not plan to go, and the mutations you pick up change your options mid-round. Versus mode rewards aggression and awareness of where everyone else is, while survival mode rewards sticking together against the horde. Set the AI difficulty to match your group before you begin, since a too-easy or too-brutal setting shapes the whole session. Since there is no online play, plan for a shared screen and enough input devices for everyone joining.