I’ve had a lifelong obsession with Troma Entertainment. One of my core memories is owning a Toxic Crusaders coloring book and some of the action figures. When I saw the Toxic Crusaders booth at THE MIX Summer Game Showcase, I immediately had to play it and chat with the developers.
The Toxic Crusaders Are So Back
It’s wild that so many R-rated movies were adapted into cartoons in the ’90s. Toxic Crusaders was one of them (or well, it was based on The Toxic Avenger if you want to split hairs). The developers stated that they received full support from Troma Entertainment during the creation of this game. This collaboration provided them with access to unused concepts from the toy line. The game’s plot is based on the unreleased second season of the original series. During the demo, I observed references to The Toxic Avenger franchise. The developers also hinted that there would be numerous nods to other Troma films. I’ll be excited if Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., makes an appearance.
I’m getting sidetracked here. Toxic Crusaders is a four-player co-op beat ’em up, and even without any knowledge of Troma, its pixel style and barrage of bad puns land effectively. You can select from Toxic, the iconic leader of the team, and six other characters. If you want to switch things up and see how a character plays, you’re able to swap them out mid-fight. The cutscenes are fully voiced, and the characters drop quips throughout the levels. I had to really lean in to hear it, as a lot was going on at The MIX.
The demo was brief but fun—defeat enemies, take down a boss, and enjoy a cutscene. There is no current release date yet, but you can Wishlist Toxic Crusaders on Steam, and it will be coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox.
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