PAX East 2024 – Big Boy Boxing Has Big Boy Ideas

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PAX EAST

Do you miss Punch-Out? I walked the PAX East floor and found that Soupmasters made something similar: Big Boy Boxing.

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You’ll be dodging side to side while throwing your jabs. It doesn’t hide the influence, instead flaunting it. The gameplay features a boss rush boxing game with hand-animated pixel graphics.

While inspired by one of the old-school greats, Soupmasters aren’t using that as a crutch. Instead, Big Boy Boxing has its own ideas and some unique ones as well. One of the big differences is your opponents transform mid-fight.

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BIG BOY BOXING ISN’T A CHEAP PUNCH-OUT!! CLONE

The first encounter is against Freezy Boy, who doesn’t seem to hit too hard. His health went down about halfway down, and he began to hulk out. His arms became gigantic, and then so did his body. Freezy Boy ain’t no Glass Joe.

WOLFENSTEIN RPG The core gameplay is the same, but Wolfenstein’s story, style, and lore help to put the game over the top.

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Luckily, you have a power-up punch and can tilt forward for some haymakers of your own. Waiting for your opponent to glow yellow will help you land that critical hit.

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After playing the demo, I spoke with Martin Calander, Big Boy Boxing’s Game Director & Lead Programmer. I wanted to see how the game came to be and see what else was in store.

BIG BOY BOXING ORIGINALLY LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT

Initially, the game was looking very different. The project began as a fighter more in the vein of Super Smash Bros. Over time, it slowly shifted to more of a Punch-Out!! style game. One reason for this change? Cuphead, which also serves as a huge inspiration for the team.

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Multiple Blue Rings

The PAX East demo had seven bosses, but Calander told me there is way more content. We could only see about 10-15% of what’s in store for us. We did learn about one thing in the works: equipable items and stat upgrades, which should drastically change each fight.

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