PAX EAST 2023 | "Goons: Legends & Mayhem"
Hockey is a brutal sport. Add magic to it, and you’ll have complete chaos. That seems to be the goal of RageCure Games’s Goons: Legends & Mayhem, an arcade-inspired sports game that hits the ice as hard as a dragon’s tail whip! And from what I experience of the demo, it’s looking to bring plenty of fantastical fun.
Firestoke’s booth gave four players the chance to play a three-minute 2 vs 2 round of fantasy ice hockey. On top of your run-of-the-mill passing, shooting, and checking skills, your characters will also deliver some firepower (sometimes literally!) into the game. Depending on who you’re playing as, your character can unleash some pretty impressive abilities to aid in winning the game. From freezing your opponents in blocks of ice or simply zapping them with some lightning, the magic on display here is what you’d expect from a hockey game played in ye ole Middle Ages.
Be it with regular hockey skills or the wizardry kind, playing Goons: Legends & Mayhem feels like a proper arcade hockey game. It brings to mind the NHL Hitz series from Midway many console generations ago, where the fictitious aspects of the game overshadow the more realistic part. Thankfully, it manages to deliver a good chunk of wackiness and fun, with its easy controls and mechanics being a solid draw for gamers old and new. However, I did notice some wonky movements here and there, as it sometimes felt like it took forever for my character to catch up to the rest of the team.
Despite this hiccup, RageCure Games’s latest title is bound to appease both fantasy and sports fanatics. On top of the multiplayer aspect, Goons: Legends & Mayhem will also feature a story mode, with a lone hockey hero aiming to bring back the sport to its golden era. If it can deliver a satisfying narrative that doesn’t take itself too seriously, then I’m certain that this fantasy hockey game will be one worthy of a Stanley Cup!
Goons: Legends & Mayhem arrives on PC and consoles later this year.
