A few years ago, Creed: Rise to Glory was released to VR devices. While not exactly the best showcase of a first-person combat game in VR, it ended up being a lot better than expected. Not only being a pretty alright boxing game in VR, but also doubling as an excellent fitness piece of software. Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions is developer Survios’ second foray into porting the Rocky/Creed franchise into a video game, but weirdly enough, it’s not a virtual reality game at all. Which is bizarre considering VR is all that Survios has worked on in the past. Is this a way to cater to a larger audience? Well, let’s see if this was a smart decision or not.

Let me start off by saying that Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions is not a mere port of Rise to Glory to non-VR machines. It is not a first-person boxing game, not even an over-the-shoulder game like the Punch Out and Fight Night titles. It is a lot more similar to a traditional fighting game in a 3D environment. The closest counterpart to this game is Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, an over-the-top boxing franchise that was huge back in Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast. Both games share the same kind of 3D movement, somewhat limited “movepool”, and the inclusion of a “special meter” that fills up the more your punches connect onto the foe’s face. Once full, press L1 or L2 to unleash a cinematic special attack that deals a ton of damage.

In theory, it’s a great idea. Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions feels like a PS2-era fighting game at times, especially since it’s a fighting game in which half of its roster is locked at first. You’ll have to unlock them all by playing the damn thing over and over, with each initial character having a mini story mode that grants you a brand new fighter once beaten. It’s almost refreshing to play a game that follows a progression pattern and simplicity from a nostalgic era from my childhood, but sadly, Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions features controls as clunky as your average licensed fighting game from the same era.

I’m not saying it isn’t playable. With enough time spent on the practice mode, you can get used to the game’s stiff controls and the fact you will be locked into long (and ugly) animations once you commit to a button press, but it’s far from ideal and far from fluid. There is a bit of strategy revolving around blocking and dodging, as well as saving your ultimate attack to when your opponent is vulnerable, but it’s mostly shallow button mashing. The intelligent and challenging combat from Creed: Rise to Glory hasn’t been translated very well into a non-VR, non-first-person format.

It’s a shame, because Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions doesn’t exactly disrespect the Rocky and Creed franchises. Everyone you know and love from the movies is here. From Rocky to Clubber Lang, from Creed to Viktor Drago, you can play as all of them, even if their character models are just average-looking at best. The game even includes all of your favorite licensed songs, such as Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”, which will be blasted at full volume when you’re punching bags in between fights. Even if these QTE sections mean absolutely nothing in terms of character growth, I really enjoyed their inclusion just for the sake of actually being there. It wouldn’t be Rocky without being able to punch a frozen bull carcass.

Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions is not exactly a very good fighting game, but it does have a bit of charm. It can be quite appealing to a very specific niche: those who are really into the Rocky and Creed movies, and those within this demographic who don’t own a PSVR, since Creed: Rise to Glory is superior in every single way. If anything, I can safely say this is the best non-VR Rocky game ever made. Only because the franchise’s history in gaming is as bad as Rocky’s face after getting beaten up by Apollo in the first movie…

 

Graphics: 6.0 It runs incredibly well and its characters vaguely resemble their movie counterparts. With that being said, its animations are really stiff, looking borderline robotic, and the amount of motion blur thrown into the mix is annoying.	Gameplay: 5.5 Even if you can get used to them after a while, the controls are stiff and clunky, and the gameplay isn’t exactly the most riveting when it comes to boxing games. There’s a lot less freedom than in its VR counterpart.
Sound: 8.5 Even if its voice acting is beyond cheesy, it does include all of the big licensed songs from the Rocky and Creed movies. “Eye of the Tiger” will never stop being one hell of a banger.	Fun Factor: 6.5 It makes up for its clunky gameplay and underwhelming presentation with a decent amount of fanservice and a progression system that makes the game feel like a good old fighting title from twenty years ago. It’s only recommended towards big Rocky fans.
Final Verdict: 6.5

Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions is available now on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch.

Reviewed on PS4.

A copy of Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions was provided by the publisher.