While I do absolutely appreciate the effort Nintendo made to make the Switch clearly geared for local multiplayer fun, as someone who has reviewed far too many local multiplayer action games it has been a long road. Whether they’re trying to be more serious or silly, skill-based or wild and unpredictable, traditional or unorthodox, it feels like the system has probably covered just about every potential combination to this point.

Bare Butt Boxing comes into the arena at least boasting a little flavor of its own, featuring a pretty wacky but physics-based style of play, some variety in its objectives to try to keep feeling more fresh longer, and at least the general promise of online play (while it lasts, based on experience, unfortunately). The fact that there are a variety of ways to score in most cases does at least shake up the typical formula, and the inclusion of power-ups helps to add to the chaos, but I’d say the general feel of the combat is edged out by some of its competition.

There’s just something about the weight and style of movement and attacks in the likes of both Stick Fight: The Game and Gang Beasts that feels deeper and a bit more rewarding. Granted, this is a bit like comparing apples and oranges to chicken pot pies since their styles of play are all quite different, but for me there’s just something missing in this formula that doesn’t end up feeling quite as satisfying.

I’ll absolutely concede that Bare Butt Boxing is at least a step above its much more generic brawling peers, and there are quite a lot of them, but for me there’s just an extra something or touch of genius that takes it to the next level. It’s engaging, and has a style of its own, but it also felt a bit more repetitive in its action than some others. That leaves it somewhere in the middle of the heap, capable of going the distance to a degree, but I’d argue not having quite the staying power to help it stand apart from its competition.