‘RoboDunk’ Is a Slam Dunk in Every Conceivable Way (Review)

Sometimes, the premise of a game can catch you off guard. Do you like robots? Well, what about NBA Jam? Maybe a wee bit of Rogue Legacy for good measure? Welcome to RoboDunk. A game that grabbed me by the shoulders and used me to boost into space before delivering a slam-dunk of fun. Its arcade action has no equal, with excellent customization options that make this a must-play for roguelike and sports fans. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d be spinning together, but here we are.

‘Robodunk’ Is an Exercise in Both Form and Function

What good is a game if it doesn’t play as good as it looks? Well, it’s not worth much at all then, is it? Thankfully, RoboDunk is not only incredibly visually appealing but also offers a wealth of gameplay options to ensure that every match is different than the last. Using the arcade roots of games like NBA Jam and making each of the characters look like knockoff Bionicles may be confusing to some, but it feels like it was made with people like me in mind.

RoboDunk runs smoothly on my Xbox Series X and looks fantastic while doing so. It’s a pure 4K spectacle, filled to the brim with screen-filling effects. Sure, it’s graphically simplistic, but the amount of detail that went into the stop-motion effects, as well as just general wear and tear on the bots themselves, deserves kudos.

Customization is also a major factor here. Depending on the mods I unlocked, I could equip my robots with several buffs before a match would begin. If the match was long enough, I could even add in more before the final buzzer. This made strategizing and picking the best mods for my team much more important. The wrong mod could mean that my run comes to a close much faster than I’d like it to.

It’s also great to see that amount of variation not only in the design of the robots but the stadiums I found myself playing in. After selecting my two bots, I was thrust into a roguelike world I had never experienced before. Branching paths, and backstories for each of the colors and teams. It was a wild journey — one I’m happy to partake in again and again.

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

After jumping into Career mode, I had just enough coins to purchase my first two robots, as well as some additional mods to make my journey a little easier. Winning matches not only let me keep these modifications for the next match but also gave me additional coins to use when a better team inevitably beat me. My head got too big, and I thought I was going to be invincible while playing RoboDunk. I quickly learned that these CPU robots weren’t anything to mess with.

RoboDunk follows the same basic principles as NBA Jam; two players on each team are allowed on the court at a time. I could select which teammates I wanted to use before a match started, locking them in and giving them some additional modifications. Then, it was time to JAM. There’s no option to just shoot the ball here. It’s RoboDunk for a reason, not RoboShoot&Dunk.

However, as I quickly learned, I needed to keep my eyes on the prize at any given time. My opponents, as well as myself and my teammate, had special skills we could use to our advantage. Laying down mines, shooting cannon balls, and everything in between is completely allowed here. It’s the Wild West of the Basketball League, baby. Even hitting a Dunk is a risk versus reward situation. Either go for a single point and get a near-guaranteed dunk, or hold out and hope that you can hit a Space Jam Dunk for 4 points. As long as your timing is good.

Come on and Slam, and Welcome to the ‘robodunk’ Jam!

RoboDunk is that perfect measure of both nostalgia and evolution. It feels perfectly nostalgic in the way that it’s incredibly easy to pick up and play, but difficult to master. But it feels like the perfect evolution of modern-day gaming. By including the Roguelike elements, each run through the campaign felt just varied enough that I never knew what was coming next. No matter if victory or defeat followed a match, I was always itching to go for another round or two.

There’s something just magical about what Jollypunch was cooking when they came up with the idea of a LEGO-inspired NBA Jam roguelike. Even typing that particular phrase sounds like something I could have only thought up in the middle of a fever dream. But the result is astonishingly good. A perfect amount of depth to allow new players to get comfortable, while rewarding those who are willing to dig their heels in and learn how each of these ‘Bots play.

Roguelikes have always been incredibly hit-or-miss with me. That’s why it was genuinely shocking to see how quickly RoboDunk sank its claws into me. And it just wouldn’t release me from its grasp. It’s approachable, but also eager to dunk on you as soon as it can. And I wouldn’t ask for it any other way.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

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Robodunk is available to play now on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on Xbox Series X & PC (Purchased on PC).