Big Rumble Boxing Creed Champions Review: Should You Get the Arcade Boxer?

Survios Inc.’s Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions drops on September 3 for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation consoles, retailing at $39.99 (£31.49/€39.99) on all platforms.

Big Rumble Boxing has an ESRB rating of T for Teen and a PEGI rating of 12, meaning that the game should be played by teens and older. There is a lot of violence, with it being a boxing game, and some of the language is questionable, though not crass, but there is truly nothing nefarious in or about the game.

Please keep in mind that while direct spoilers are avoided in this review, references may still reveal some aspects of the game’s story. This review is based on the Nintendo Switch version of the title.

Our take on Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions

It has been over a decade since the Fight Night series ended, with a lack of quality boxing games released since. While Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions is not Fight Night (nor does it try to be), it is exactly as advertised: a fun arcade game with simple controls that are difficult to master.

It helps to have the Rocky-Creed franchise anchoring the character selection. The individualized stories in Arcade mode tie into the events of the movies, so fans of the franchises can think of this as an extension, an extra episode, in the lives of Balboa and Creed.

The game is straightforward, with none of the morally ambiguous decision-making necessary on your part that is so common (and rightfully so) in many games today. You read some dialogue, box a match, read some dialogue, box a match, etc., until you complete Arcade mode with a character.

Sometimes, it can be nice not to have to think too much.

The music is good, mostly rap, and fitting to the nature of the game. The Roots’ “The Fire” is the anthem of the game (seemingly), in line with its prominence in the movie Creed. There is little spoken dialogue, mostly just before and during matches, but you will hear a lot of “hms,” “hmphs,” and other grunting noises as you read the dialogue between scenes in Arcade mode.

The game can be frustrating at times, particularly on higher difficulties, but can even present a challenge on the lowest difficulty. It may turn off some less-skilled gamers, but learning and understanding the tendencies of each character can help to mitigate the difficulty.

Overall, it is a solid game that never strayed from what it was trying to be and maintained a clear vision. Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions is excellent at what it is: an arcade boxer.

Fun rating: 7.5/10

The game is fun in that it takes a slight twist to boxing games and adds more flamboyance with the arcade-style knockdowns and hyperbolic movements. The simple controls also help because you don’t have to think as much in terms of how to throw your punches.

Arcade mode can become frustrating with each challenger increasing in difficulty; having to rematch the same person repeatedly is a tedious task. Even though there aren’t any penalties for losing, it is still irksome, especially if you lost when you were so close to victory.

However, the Specials and their animations are cool, and each fighter having their own adds to the fun in wanting to unlock and see every character’s Super. Some of the knockdowns can evoke a laugh or two at the absurdity of the fall.

With that, Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions receives a 7.5/10 by way of a fun rating.

Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions gameplay

Creed Champions is an arcade boxer with minimal controls that aims to be fun to play while being easy to understand yet challenging to master. Between mixing basic and power attacks with guarding, dodging, grappling, and Supers, your aim is to knock down your opponents enough times that they cannot make a standing ten count.

Each boxer has one of three fight archetypes: Generalist, Brawler, and Swarmer. Each boxer also has unique strikes and finishers, so no two characters of the same archetype are the same. As it is arcade-style, some of the animations are over the top, especially when landing a knockdown.

What game modes are available in Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions?

Creed Champions has three game modes: Arcade, Versus, and Training. The first two are where you’ll probably spend most of your time.

In Arcade, you will embark on individualized stories for each character, facing stiffer competition as you progress through the rounds. With the titular character, Adonis Creed, you are roped into a $100,000 tournament by Benjamin “Benji” Reid, but the stakes become higher by the end. Along for the ride with Creed is Rocky Balboa, who is also a playable character from the start.

The file is automatically saved after each fight, so you can either continue along the story or take a break without fear that you’ll lose progress. You can simply continue where you left off by clicking Arcade on the mode select screen and then “Continue.”

You will also have a few chances at mini-games that are based on boxing training and scenes from the Rocky franchise. You will slip and counter pads, run on a treadmill, and even land combos on hanging meat carcasses. Simply follow the instructions and control sequences to achieve a high score.

There aren’t any accomplishments tied to difficulty, so play at your desired setting. You can also rematch as much as you want if you lose, so that should help ease the frustration of losing to the same opponent ten consecutive times.

Completing Arcade mode with a character will unlock the other outfits for them. If you are going for a completionist run, you will have to beat Arcade mode with (eventually) 20 boxers.

Versus mode will be the mode that you play to unlock the other nine boxers. Upon winning a Versus mode match, the “Next Unlock” ribbon fills a bit. Like with most level progression systems, it takes more wins to unlock the next fighter, and the bar does not carry over if extra is gained (like Supers). Once you fill the bar, you will be notified that a character “wants to fight.”

Then, when you are back to the Character Select screen, you will automatically be pitted against this fighter once you select your character.

The only way to unlock the character and make them playable is to defeat them in this match. Once you beat them, you will receive a notification at the end of the match that they are now unlocked.

Training mode is the first mode that you should play to get the timing and controls. It is the best place to find out the intricacies and uniqueness of each character.

How long is Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions?

Depending on your skill level, the difficulty setting, your speed in reading the dialogue, and if you skip cut-scenes, an Arcade mode run can take between 30 minutes and an hour. If you multiply that by 20 characters, you are looking at around 20 hours or so of Arcade mode gameplay. Remember, to obtain all of the fighter skins, you will need to complete Arcade mode with each character.

In Versus mode, while the bar does get progressively more difficult to fill, it still shouldn’t take too long to unlock the other nine characters. A safe estimate is that it will take between 15 and 30 minutes to challenge and unlock a new character, with the caveats listed above also applying here. If you multiply that by nine, then that is another three hours or so of Versus mode.

With any time spent in training or rematches in Arcade mode, a conservative estimate for a completionist run would be around 25 hours.

Does Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions have a multiplayer mode?

Yes, there is a multiplayer mode, but it is only local multiplayer. Being that it is a boxing game, only two players can play at any given time.

However, the game could have a PvP system implemented in the future, maybe through a DLC or game patch, considering arcade fighters are popular in the PvP realm. Having said all of this, none of these potential features have been detailed or even alluded to at the time of writing.

Are there online features in Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions?

No, there aren’t any online features in Creed Champions at this time.

Are there microtransactions and loot boxes in Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions?

No, there aren’t any microtransactions or loot boxes featured in Creed Champions; once you pay for the game, you are receiving a completed product.

Does Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions have cross-play?

Without online features, there isn’t any cross-play or cross-platform multiplayer features.

If an online feature were to be added, a leaderboard feature or feed could be implemented to update you on your friends’ accomplishments in the game. However, the former would require the implementation of points beyond the Arcade mode mini-games.

What is the file size of Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions?

Big Rumble Boxing is listed at 6.7 GB for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox, while Steam suggests 8 GB of free space to download and play this title.

Is Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions worth the price?

At first, you might say no, as it costs $40 (in the United States) for a 25-hour game. However, considering the dearth of boxing games and the uniqueness of this game (it evokes Ready 2 Rumble Boxing), that claim is up for discussion.

If you are a sports gamer, fighting gamer, or just like boxing, then you will probably view this game as a good investment even without online PvP possibilities. If you like Rocky and Creed, then you will probably like this game because of its ties to the movies. The graphics also make it appealing to all audiences, even if rated T/12.

Then again, if you do not like sports and fighting games or dislike the movies, this might not be the game for you.

However, there seems to be enough in the game that appeals to a broad audience, especially with its easy-to-grasp gameplay. The ability to play as both Creeds, Balboa, Ivan Drago, and others makes it even more enticing, pushing Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions towards being worth the cost.

Are you thinking about playing Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions? Let us know your thoughts or if you have any questions about the game in the comments section below.