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The result is that the game has some of the best maps in any fighting game. They simply wouldn’t work in a series like Tekken, but these jelly fighters know how to emphasize fun over skill with free-flowing attacks and silly costumes.
Updated February 28, 2022, by Ryan Woodrow: The location of a fight can determine the outcome long before the fighters come to blows, and Gang Beasts is the perfect example of that. Gang Beasts maps are full of whacky occurrences and unexpected outcomes that make fights unfair in the funniest ways possible. Be it objects falling from the sky, the floor falling from underneath players’ feet, or a subway train running players over, there are endless ways in which the game creates the chaos on which these fights thrive. No other fighting game does it quite like Gang Beasts for this very reason.
14 Lighthouse - Shining a Light On Violence
Lighthouse is a fairly simple map, as there are no random or whacky occurrences to screw players over. This is technically a bad thing for a Gang Beasts map, but even in a game as mental as this, it can be nice to have a clean fight every once in a while.
There are a few maps like that in the game, and Lighthouse offers a bit of variety from a simple map like Ring. The circular nature, with the actual lighthouse in the middle gives players a bit of an option to run away, or lure their opponent into traps if they want. Dropping players off the edge into the abyss is also more entertaining than the short drop to the floor in Ring.
13 Train - On Rails
Like other maps, like Trucks, prove, fighting on top of moving objects is a sure-fire recipe for hilarious chaos. This map offers a little more real-estate than Trucks, though, with all the carriages available of players to battle on top of. With lots of people on one map, this can be great to separate out the action into lots of little battles.
While players aren’t going to be randomly annihilated by passing signs in Trains, they are going to get jerked about by the speed of the train as it takes corners a little too quickly. Players will have to contend with the momentum of their player and hold on tight to ensure victory.
12 Girders - Beasts At Work
It’s hard to think of a more dangerous place to have a fight than at the top of a skyscraper, except perhaps one that isn’t finished yet. Dangerous places are where Gang Beasts fights thrive, and there are all sorts of workplace hazards that will make these fighters eligible for workers’ comp when they inevitably fall to their doom.
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With no barriers on any side of the building, being thrown off is more a matter of “when” than “if”, but just in case that wasn’t dangerous enough, the floor isn’t as sturdy as it looks in many places. With enough force, just about any wooden section of the floor can fall through, making it a powerful weapon, as well as a hazard.
11 Grind - Slow & Painful
Perhaps the map with the smallest amount of “safe space”, this map is bound to end in a desperate attempt to escape the strong clutches of the grinders. The grinder in the center is the easiest place to throw people, but also the easiest to escape from, making it full of clutch escapes.
The ones on the side are more efficient, but their accessible nature means players nearby will have to be careful, as they can easily get caught in them. Then there’s the pit of unspecified goo that awaits anyone who falls over the edge. It’s unclear what this is made of, but given that it’s steaming and bubbling, it’s probably not great for the fighters’ health.
10 Blimp – Wobbling Over The City
Blimp is a deceptive map. At first, it seems like a fairly standard affair. Players will charge towards each other on what seems like solid ground, the only caution being the rounded shape of the blimp. It’d make it easy to slip and slide off into the abyss.
Then, the map throws players a curveball when the blimp suddenly starts swaying from side to side. Now the spherical shape of the terrain is no longer a thing to be wary of but an outright threat. Players have to suddenly shift their focus from fighting their opponent to making the necessary moves to keep themselves safe.
9 Wheel – Round And Round It Goes
One of the biggest fixtures in a map, Wheel’s Ferris Wheel, is a lot of fun to mess around with. It’s constantly on the move, so getting the fight started can sometimes be a challenge, but everyone eventually takes the leap, only to fall face-first on the boardwalk.
Speaking of the boardwalk, that’s an exciting place to fight for those brave enough, as players will quickly find it crumbling under their feet. The possibilities for battles are pretty expansive on this map, and it’s even possible to cause the wheel to fall apart if players are persistent enough.
8 Aquarium – Don’t Feed The Fish
One of the game’s newest maps, Aquarium has one of the most complex mechanics ever to be added. Swimming! And also a giant tentacle monster…Unlike most maps with water, where players will immediately drop to the bottom like a rock, there are small bodies of water in Aquarium where players can briefly float their way out of trouble.
The map is split-level, allowing for some tremendous high-flying offense and maybe even a few cheeky special moves, but the main event is the giant pool in the middle, from which tentacles slowly emerge. This monster’s limbs are sticky, meaning they trap any player who touches it and slowly drag them into the abyss.
7 Gondola – When I’m Cleaning Windows
An extremely claustrophobic map, Gondolas ensures that close encounters and tense duels will be plentiful. Two small gondolas connected by the world’s most unstable plank seem like a deadly place to do battle, and the jelly fighters up there will soon see just how much danger they’re in.
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Aside from being easily thrown to the ground below, players will undoubtedly quickly discover that the ropes holding everything up are very weak indeed. A few punches and they disconnect. Do this to enough of them and gravity will claim the entire thing and everyone on it.
6 Roof – Rooftop Rumble
On the surface, Roof looks like a fairly plain map. It doesn’t have much of a gimmick like others, and some find that disappointing. However, it has a great variety of terrain, allowing for some chaotically fun fights. There’s a nice flat surface for those who want a plain duel, but there are objects scattered about that players can use to their advantage.
In addition to that, there are multiple levels of elevation for those who like to take risks when they fight. There’s even a glass sunroof, which can be shattered and opened like a Robot Wars-style pit to try and put fellow fighters into.
5 Subway – In Gang Beasts, Train Runs For You
The one thing many maps in Gang Beasts all share is that the only way to die in them is to fall into a bottomless pit. It’s clean and straightforward, but it doesn’t make for much of a memorable moment. Then, there’s a map like Subway, where everyone will remember the first time a train appeared out of nowhere and obliterated them.
What’s so much fun about Subway is that it starts as a regular fight, but as soon as one player gets dropped onto the tracks, the entire focus shifts. Now it’s all about that one player desperately struggling to get back on the platform before the train runs them over. Crafty players will do what they can to stop this, but they could get dragged down too.
4 Vents – What Goes Up…
When it comes to in-built mechanics, there are few better than Vents, with ideas that are straight out of an anime fight scene. Seeming like a regular map at first, players will quickly realize that’s not the case once the fan turns on and sends them into the air. What is simultaneously a boon and a threat, the blades can suck players down and chop them up just as easily as they can aid their flight.
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There are yet more surprises in store, though. Players trying to remain grounded by grabbing onto the floor are in for a surprise when the grating gives way, dashing their hopes of holding on but giving them a new weapon. Unless, of course, they get too close to the sides, as there are fans there just waiting to suck players to their doom.
3 Ring – Royal Rumble
Gimmicks and mechanics are all well and good, but sometimes players need a no-frills fight to settle the score. This is Gang Beasts’s “Final Destination”, to borrow some Smash Bros terminology. Just a plain ring canvas on which players can wrestle, and that’s all they need.
Ring presents a fun challenge, too. The ropes are higher than the boundaries on most other maps, meaning lifting opponents over to dump them out takes some skill. It also means that fights tend to last longer in this arena, so with lots of players, it can feel like a real Royal Rumble, worthy of WWE.
2 Incinerator – Burn Baby Burn
Roaring flames make a worthy threat for just about any battle, but Incinerator’s greatness comes from its huge variety and almost endless possibilities. While fighting around the edge of the fire is always an option, players could do battle on a conveyor belt, pushing them towards the flames or a raised platform. It’s even possible to climb up on the vents and fight above the fire.
A single round in Incineroar can go all over the place if players are good enough. There’s a little interior section where players can hide or blindly button mash until someone comes back into view. It’s the kind of map that’s very hard to get tired of because there’s always more to be done with it.
1 Trucks – Convoy!
No other map in Gang Beasts is such a beautiful mix of chaos, skill, and all-out hilarious moments. Fighting on the back of a pair of moving trucks is about as safe as it sounds, and an endless source of comedy comes from people trying and failing to jump between the two while trying to pull off some powerful martial arts.
When players do fight, slipping off onto the road is extremely easy, meaning fights on this map often aren’t very long. However, even when they do go for a while, the road signs will see to that. Players can jump over the metal bar if they’re on the right side. Otherwise, they’re going to smack into a solid sign in a pure slapstick moment that is always funny.
Gang Beasts was released on August 19, 2014, and is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows, Mac, and Linux.
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