Have you ever wanted to play a beat-em-up where you fight robots as cheerleaders? No? That’s fair, that was kind of a dumb question. Ra Ra BOOM is a 2D side-scrolling beat-em-up that already has a demo available on Steam, showcasing the game’s first two levels. We got to go a little deeper and check out the third and fourth levels as well, which take place in a purple swamp and an amusement park. The game is shaping up to offer enjoyable four-player co-op that lets players absolutely destroy a ton of robots or die trying.
Ra Ra BOOM takes place in a future where mankind lives in fear of robot attacks after years of quiet. When the robots do attack, the game’s four cheerleader protagonists travel to Earth to defeat the mastermind and save humanity from annihilation. The game has slideshow-esque cutscenes and full voice acting, which adds a lot of additional character. You can either play it with three other players or by your lonesome with a system much like the one in the original Ninja Turtles game for the NES. Namely, you get one life to lose with each of the four characters. If they all die, you’re back to the last checkpoint.
This is notable because enemies in Ra Ra BOOM actually do a fair amount of damage, so you can die quite easily. Combat is mostly typical for a beat-em-up, you move freely about the area and use standard combos and strong attacks (which let you dash forward and strike) to dispatch your enemies. You’ll also build up energy for a meter that allows you to use a powerful special. One of the game’s most unique elements is that the ground is sort of divided into lanes, but since you can move freely it only tends to matter for certain boss fights and auto-run sequences, where enemies always attack individual lanes or you have to run while locked to one.
Defeated enemies drop scrap that you can use in the game’s shop to purchase new moves and upgrades for all of your characters. New moves include the ability to launch enemies, ground pound, hover in mid-air while shooting, and more. Upgrades improve your health, attack, and luck, among other things. After just four levels, I was able to purchase a hefty amount of new moves and upgrades, so it seems you’ll be able to become very strong well before you hit the endgame in Ra Ra BOOM.
As for the third and fourth levels, they contain more of the high quality art that was on display in the other two, alongside some new enemies. The third level, the purple swamp, features a heavy foe that takes a lot more damage than most others. When up against more than one of these, you’ll need to be careful or see your health bar drained rapidly. This level culminates in a boss fight that begins with you chasing a robot before it jumps into a large machine that uses several weapons that need to be destroyed individually.
The amusement park level is probably my favourite of the four from a visual standpoint, though. Shooting at robots in bumper cars in front of a dinosaur-themed backdrop is one of my favourite visuals that I’ve seen from the game, plus the area lends itself well to the game’s cartoony feel. The boss here is very on-brand too, as you’ll be fighting a roller coaster robot that requires you to get out of the various lanes where carts are quickly bearing down on you. You need to hit the boss cart before it becomes vulnerable. These two additional levels have certainly made me more keen on the game and I’m curious to see what the rest of it has in store when it releases in full later this year.
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