Asterix & Obelix Slap Them All! 2

I run spreadsheets on progression systems for fun, so I'll be honest: my first pass at Slap Them All! 2 had me cross-referencing the character differences between Asterix and Obelix like a unit roster. What I found was a side-scrolling beat 'em up that looks extraordinary and plays adequately, held back by the same unwillingness to take risks that limited its 2021 predecessor. The art direction is the genuine highlight. Every environment, cutscene, and enemy sprite is rendered in a style that sits exactly between the classic Goscinny-Uderzo comic strips and the vintage animated films, right down to the onomatopoeia sound effects that pop on screen when you land a slap. If you grew up with these books, the visual presentation alone carries real affective weight. Mechanically, the two characters are meaningfully distinct in a way that matters on paper. Asterix is the quick, nimble fighter who moves fast but hits light. Obelix is the slow, tanky bruiser with heavier damage output and less agility. Both get a charged special attack, a Fury mode that activates once the energy meter fills partway, and a screen-clearing Ultimate when the bar maxes out. You can also pick up and throw environmental objects, barrels, and menhirs into crowd-controlled Roman formations. In solo play, losing your active character lets you continue as the other, effectively giving you two lives per attempt. On paper, that is a decent mechanical foundation for a brawler at this budget tier. In practice, the problem is that Asterix is locked out of grapple attacks entirely, the enemy roster is thin and leans heavily on assets recycled from the first game, and the combat loop runs out of surprises around stage two. Reviewers across the board flagged the same issue: repetition sets in fast, and there is no dodge move to add defensive skill expression. The co-op is where the game earns its clearest recommendation. Two players on a couch, one controlling each Gallic hero, cover each other's weaknesses in a way that solo play cannot replicate. Balance is noticeably improved over the original, difficulty spikes feel fair rather than punitive, and the absurdist slapstick humour lands better when someone is sitting next to you. The stage count sits at roughly 20-plus levels, each more expansive than the shorter chapters in the first game, and you can replay any completed stage freely outside of the main campaign. Completion time hovers around 4-6 hours on a normal playthrough, which is short but at least honest about what the game is delivering. One structural oddity that genuinely puzzled critics: there is a scoring system with a combo meter and end-of-level tallies, but no leaderboards of any kind, online or local. Score chasing with nowhere to post your score is a strange design choice that hints at features that were scoped down before release. For strategy and sim players stumbling onto this page: this is not your genre, and Slap Them All! 2 will not convert you. The decision-making is essentially "which button to press and whether to save the Ultimate for the boss." The comparison point here is Streets of Rage 4 or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, both of which offer alternate routes, unlockable moves, and replayability hooks that this game does not match. What it does offer is a polished licensed brawler that respects the source material, plays cleanly in local co-op, and does not overstay its short runtime. If you have kids who know who Asterix is, or a co-op partner who grew up on the comics, the value calculation shifts meaningfully in the game's favour. Everyone else should temper expectations accordingly.

Diego · Scout Team

Strategy & simulation

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