Thank you Team17 for providing us with a review code!

When I think of Team17 I get nostalgic flashbacks of the beloved Worms games. That series is equally fun, funny, and charming. Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is published by Team17, but made by Glee-Cheese Studio and is just as silly and loveable as the Worms series.

Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is a rhythm party game that is online only. There is cross-platform support between PC and console players and up to thirty players/pigeons can compete together. If there are not enough players, bots will step in as necessary. Not surprisingly, the bots are much easier to beat than human opponents. The unfortunate struggle is finding people to play against. Sadly, local multiplayer is not an option.

If you do get a game going, there are four rounds to compete in and there are a total of twenty-three minigames split up throughout the competition. Here’s the possible options per round:

Round 1: Garden Party, Guess it!, Guilty!, Run Pigeon Run 1, Yes Commander!, Piano Mezzo Forte
Round 2: Fitness, The Ring, First Piano Shooter, Faster Than Sound, Stereo Ga Ga, Super Striker
Round 3: Glottissimo, The Battle Box, The Perfect Shot, The Stunt Moles, The Space Race, To The Sky
Round 4: The Final Ride, After Party, That 70’s Race, Run Pigeon Run 2, Oui Votre Majesté

Many of the mini-games have the same formula where you have to watch and repeat a leader’s movements, and if you mess up, you get eliminated. There are instrument-themed mini-games where you have to quickly match a sound effect to the instrument that made it, or match the instrument-wielding artist to the noise they made.

One of my favorite mini-games is First Piano Shooter. In this mini-game, you have to recreate the melody you heard by shooting the dangling piano keys with a slingshot. Glottissimo is another listen and repeat mini-game where you have to reproduce the opera singing notes by correctly pressing the right buttons in order. The Ring requires you to accurately label three sound effects that you hear.

During the matches there will often be a flying box that you can attempt to grab (without ruining the rhythm of the mini-game!). If you manage to collect the box, you can introduce a stumbling block to your opponent like flinging mud on their screen to make it difficult for them to see what they’re doing. You can also unlock bonus rounds where you have to try and earn as many breadcrumbs as possible in a short period of time. Bread crumbs can be spent to unlock various outfits for your pigeon. I got a Worms-themed mask for mine.

The visuals are adorable and I love the various outfits available for the pigeons to wear. The colorful backgrounds and cute characters are bound to attract the attention of kids.

The voice acting is equally adorable and the sound effects are top notch. I wouldn’t expect less from a rhythm-themed game.

Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is very family-friendly and there’s little to complain about morally. There’s cartoon violence and alcohol references.

The asking price of $19.99 is pretty steep for a multiplayer game that’s mostly played by bots. I have seen it on sale on Steam for $6.99 and the Switch version for as little as $3.99. It’s only worth picking up if you can coordinate to play with friends. There are multiple DLC packs/seasons available for purchase but I wouldn’t spend any more money than necessary unless you can guarantee that you can find others to play against. It’s truly a shame that local multiplayer wasn’t a consideration.