Have You Played... Beast Boxing Turbo

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.

Beast Boxing Turbo is a simple pleasure, the kind that's hard to write about. It's Super Punch-Out but with monsters. You're a human woman who has decided to enter a beast-only fighting league by wearing a haphazardly designed costume. You first-person punch your way through progressively more difficult bouts and, in between, spend the money you earn on new equipment and new moves.

And that's it. And it's great.

Partly it's the sense of humour with which everything is presented. It's a silly idea for a game and it knows it, lightly riffing on tropes from Rocky movies. The beasts you come up against are all creatively designed, like you've stumbled across an older, unknown 2D Zeno Clash.

It's partly that there's always fun to be had in watching numbers increase. You win fights, you earn money, and you gain ever more unlikely tools to help you in the next bout. The fights themselves require at least some skill from you, as you dodge special attacks, string combos together and try to make sure you don't tire yourself out.

And it's partly just that it's so simple. The game is £4, neatly designed, and relaxing to boff through fifteen minutes at a time. A nice thing.