What Ultra Space Battle Brawl is
Ultra Space Battle Brawl is a competitive 2D fighter that plays like Pong crossed with a fighting game. You bat a projectile back and forth across the arena while trying to outlast your opponent, so the basics are simple to pick up but the timing and spacing take real practice to get good at. The game leans into a bright, colorful pixel art style with 80s Japanese aesthetics, and the roster holds more than 10 playable characters, each with its own quirk and a nod to Indonesian cultures. The soundtrack mixes funkot dangdut, an Indonesian house style, with 80s synthwave, and the opening track was written by Manami Matsumae of Mega Man fame.
Playing it as a group
The game supports up to 4 simultaneous players across various modes, so a whole group can jump into the same match rather than watching from the sidelines. It's built for settling disputes with friends, family, rivals or arch nemesis, which makes it a good pick when a group wants something quick and competitive instead of a long session. Remote Play Together is supported, so people who aren't on the same couch can still join in on a match.
Before you start
There's a single player story mode campaign for when you don't have friends or enemies around to fight, which also works as a place to learn the characters and their quirks before dragging your group into a match. Expect a competitive game rather than a cooperative one: rounds are about beating whoever is on the other side, and the aggression is played for comedy. The post-apocalyptic setting and experimental take on the fighting formula mean the matches can feel unusual compared with a standard fighter, so give the modes a look first and pick the one that fits how many people are sitting down to play.