Inspired by Classics and 80s/90s Pop Culture, VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out! Enters the Ring in 2023

A Humorous Gauntlet of Icons to Punch

We love a fun tribute to our favorite movies and games but we never thought much about throwing hands with a towering monument of muscle pastiche of Macho Man Randy Savage or socking Jaws right in his toothy gob while a not-Skeletor and not-Elvira cheers us on, until now that is. Drenched in references to all sorts of notable media, steeped in comedy, boiled in a tried and true video game genre, and sprinkled with inspired-by-the-era mature themes, VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out is slated for a 2023 release on Steam, first going through a crowdfunding period on Kickstarter. 

Already achieving their funding goals through Kickstarter in just an hour into the crowdfunding campaign, the developers at Vanilla Gaming Company have their sights set on bringing their comedy boxing game to all major consoles with the Nintendo Switch being a top priority should they meet their stretch goals. The parody boxing title was also revealed to be coming to the iiRcade platform of arcade consoles with a special edition of the cabinet in development to celebrate the game’s upcoming release. As a fan of the iiRcade platform, it’s always cool to see more games wind up there as it is a novel way to play titles like Retro Knock-Out. 

Where the game might run into a little trouble (especially if they’re shooting for a console release) are the mature themes used throughout the game’s visuals and the parody characters that might be a little too close to their inspirations. At a glance and judging by a brief test of the game’s demo, Retro Knock-Out seems precisely as it's described, as an ode to Punch-Out!! but featuring the humor of something like the sleazy misadventures of Leisure Suit Larry. For those that would rather do without the lewdness though, there will be a censored mode and the devs claim that the game is perfectly safe to stream. The Steam page also shares that the mature content is akin to what one might see in an R-rated movie such as Banshee, Sin City, or Piranha 3D. Characters featured so far include Tike Myson, Mason Gorehees (lovingly rendered in the iconic NES-inspired purple jumpsuit), and, Macho Boxer Dandy Ravage, and Fake Jaul; most of them look pretty much spot-on as their counterparts but the names and pixel art might be enough to ward off copyright issues. 

The devs are clearly aiming for an older audience, wanting to create a tribute to their favorite things of the past but with an adult slant. 

From a design perspective, Retro Knock-Out checks all the right boxes when it comes to titles inspired by some of the best retro games and films. The pixel art stands out and it seems like players will get a good variety of encounters to keep the game interesting. The story is presented in a sharp comic book style, while there’s a 16-bit look to the action scenes which are mixed nicely with Atari-adjacent moments of downtime, giving the game a strong visual identity. 

What would really set it apart from other parody games of its type is if the fights are well-constructed and the game plays with precision. Punch-Out!! is a game that’s fondly remembered because of how simple it was to learn but became legendary because of the subtle complexities needed to master it. Retro Knock-Out needs to hit that level of execution to really hit with their intended player base otherwise they’ll have to lean on the game being exceptionally funny.  

Anyone who finds themselves laughing at games like Duke Nukem, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, the recent South Park games, or No More Heroes will probably find Retro Knock-Out comical but that sort of humor is definitely not for everyone. The game portrays the perspective of a raunchy, hot-blooded dude and everything gross that comes with that type of character. Yet with the right amount of witty dialogue or undertones, it could result in more than what it appears. Even the demo is a little too crass for my taste and I’m not much for douchebag protagonists. That said the presentation and promise of over 30 parody boxers to bruise is enough of a reason to want to see how the game holds up once fully released. 

Regardless of personal perspective, Retro Knock-Out is doing well so far on Kickstarter and there’s a ton of passion being driven into this project.

Learn more about VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out! on its Kickstarter page or Steam listing.