[GAME REVIEW] 'Big Hero 6: Bot Fight': A Match-3 Game with a Twist

Another flagship Disney movie, another tie-in mobile game. To celebrate the release of Big Hero 6, Disney has released Big Hero 6: Bot Fight, a strategic match-3 game where you control a team of robots and face off against others.

First off, it’s a match-3 game, which means Candy Crush addicts will feel right at home. However, there’s an added dimension to it. There are six basic types of “Power Cells” or “elements” which are represented on the tiles. Bio (green), Hydro (blue), Thermal (red), Solar (yellow), Magnetic (purple) and Heart (pink). When you begin the game, you start off with three robots, each of a certain “element”. When you make a match of three Cells, that corresponding robot on your team gains attack power and deals damage to the opponent bots. In true Pokemon-style, the three basic elements have weaknesses. Bio is weak to Thermal, Hydro is weak to Bio, and Thermal is weak to Hydro. It’s exactly similar to the Grass-Fire-Water setup of the Pokemon series. You can strategize and attack keeping in mind the opponent bots’ weaknesses to give you the upper hand. All the bots have an HP bar, and you have to ensure that you defeat the opponent bots before your own HP gets critically low (or you can make up for it by matching the Heart tiles to refill your health).

The level map reflects the city of San Fransokyo.

One of the aspects of the game is forming your dream team of fighter robots. You can mix and match, and add defeated robots to your collection (again, like the Pokedex in Pokemon, complete with serial numbers). And yes, you can even evolve or “Upgrade” your robots. You can also team up and play alongside other players or “Allies”. Certain Big Hero 6 movie characters like Hiro and Baymax will also pop up in each level and help you with special powers.

Big Hero 6: Bot Fight is, quite honestly, a rather confusing game to master. Unlike last year’s Frozen Free Fall, it’s never straightforward and requires a lot of head scratching to figure out what’s going on. It’s a loud and busy game, and definitely not something to play passively. It’s definitely a fun game and is a bit addictive, but I found myself relying on dumb luck to pass each level. I am yet to get into the strategic aspect, but so far, Bot Fight is an engaging game with cool graphics to boot.